TOUCHE AMORE
Parting The Sea Between Brightness And Me
[Deathwish Inc.]
Verdict: 9.5/10
When listening to Los Angeles based Touche Amore’s newest full-length, Parting The Sea Between Brightness And Me, the first thing that hits you is the album’s brevity; not a single track exceeds 2:30 in length, and the whole album is about 20 minutes long. But Touche Amore also show us why that’s not a bad thing. Touche Amore waste no time on drawn-out instrumental interludes or needless musical posturing. Instead they have streamlined their music to create one of the most sonically sound records of the year. The opener, “~”, begins with a few moments of softness before exploding into melodic guitars and screamed/growled vocals. This track is a culmination of what Touche Amore are trying to accomplish with their music, and is a fantastic opener. “The Great Repetition”, is another standout, and has lyrics that seem to regard life as some sort of play or performance, a feeling that can be relatable. “And for my final act, I’ll make everyone who loves me disappear. But I won’t know how to bring them back.” The dark lyrics on this album show a lot of honesty and maturity, and are a strength throughout. “Method Act” repeats “don’t ask me why!” with driving guitars, and has a building finale with more downer lyrics; “I’d rather play dead than play catch up, because no one seems to care that much.” Vocalist Jeremy Bolm offers up some honest self-opinions on “Face Ghost”; “I admit I’m scared, so fragile, so emotionally impaired. Damaged goods, so broken, misunderstood.” Touche Amore mix things up with “Condolences”, in which the only instrument is a piano. Immediately after is one of the highlights of the album, “Home Away From Here”, which features more honest lyrics, this time about the difficulties of keeping a relationship going while on the road. The album closes with another great track, the pummeling anthem “Amends”, which offers a light at the end of the tunnel. “When you’re working towards building back those broken boards, you sometimes lose your footing, you often find yourself.” With this release, Touche Amore have found themselves. They use all their strengths to great effect; the melodic guitars, screamed vocals, the outstanding lyrics, and sometimes pummeling hardcore moments all work extremely well. Lyrically, this is a dark and honest record, with themes many can relate to; self-doubt, the difficulty of relationships, the sense of becoming numb to things that surround us. But there is hope; Touche Amore are clearly parting the sea between brightness and all of us. — by Trevor Kirch
