The landscape of hard music in 2010 is not nearly as definable as it once was. Back in the "old days", punk was punk, hardcore was hardcore, and metal was metal. Few bands could (or would) fuse multiple genres of music into one project, let alone do so successfully. In the past decade, however, the mixing of musical styles is almost expected, so much so that much of what is available in the hard music arena is a total mashup of all things heavy. Albums become little more than a carbon copy of every predecessor that has come before, as well as most of any given band's peers in the scene. Exceptions are limited.More In Sorrow's Something Borrowed, Something Blue is one said exception.
Having formed this incarnation of the band in the greater Chicago area in 2007, More In Sorrow successfully, and refreshingly, mixes elements of some of their favorite collective styles, but they do so without sounding clichι, trite, or formulaic. Springing out of various bands in the Chicago and NW Indiana area dating back to the mid-90's, More In Sorrow is one part metal, one part scream, one part indie rock, and two parts rip-your-face-off. Their first full-length does not disappoint.
The album kicks off with "Little Stones", a track that begins by giving the listener the impression that you're in for a solid indie-rock offering, just before pulling the slingshot back and thrusting the listener into a solid post-hardcore vibe that kills. Melody and intensity prevail; this is the perfect beginning to an amazing album that "sounds" like an album-opener. Listener be warned: you just might break into an epileptic fit.
From there, the album bobs and weaves between new material and older songs that anyone who's followed the band on the road in the Midwest for any amount of time in the last 3 years will recognize. New twists to the punk-infused "Bed of Nails" or the post-hardcore sounding "October Second" will keep old fans hyped, and will draw in new listeners with their solid hooks and stellar songwriting.
Towards the second half of the album, the songwriting takes a slight turn, heading into more indie rock/emo territory, but not so much so as to cause MIS to lose their identity. One of the best (absolute) and worst (subjective) moments of the album comes from back to back tracks "Forked Tongue" and "Hide and Seek". The former track sounds a bit out of place, although the MIS flavor still shines through. Vocally, it summons reminders of Jason Gleason-era Further Seems Forever, until the height of the song, where the music drops out, and a lone scream cuts through joining a transition into a metal-esque breakdown. In the process, the flow of the song is cut off, and the scream that fuses the two sections seems forced and shrieking, rather than polished and controlled. Even with that being the case though, and given that the median age of the band is around 22, there's definitely room for growth and maturity in a positive direction. Definitely a good problem to have.
Conversely, one of the best moments of the album comes from the following track, "Hide and Seek". Although the flow seems to continue in the same vein as "Forked Tongue", the song builds up slow and steady to a crescendo, where the vocals scream out, "I am a bastard son, covered by the blood of the Lamb!" Immediately upon hearing it, the intensity of As Cities Burn's "Son I Loved You At Your Darkest" comes to mind. It's apparent that the singer has laid his soul bare lyrically on this track, and is leaving everything on the table. It comes from a place that few can tap into, but even fewer can tap into in such a way as to accurately convey the emotion of what is felt in that very moment.
The production on "Something Borrowed, Something Blue" is amazing, considering the band recorded most of this album in a house in their hometown, without all the tricks and gadgets that recording studios can afford a band. While the recording quality isn't on par with a major label, it could easily make the grade for most indie label releases, if not surpass. Having self-produced the release, the band will only get better, not only musically, but also with their production chops.
Overall, More In Sorrow is a band to be reckoned with. Already having a stranglehold on originality, they can only continue to go up. You can currently catch them swinging through the Midwest, as well as multiple dates scheduled at this year's Cornerstone Festival in Illinois. Don't be surprised if you find these guys gracing a Warped Tour stage in the very near future, though.
This digital-only release can be found on iTunes, Amazon, and Napster, and you can find More In Sorrow at http://www.myspace.com/moreinsorrow.
