[MUSIC] Heart On My Sleeve – Blood Is Not Thicker Than Wine [UNSIGNED REVIEW]

HEART ON MY SLEEVE
Blood Is Not Thicker Than Wine
[Unsigned]
Verdict: 6.5/10
RIYL: No Wings To Speak Of era HOPESFALL

HEART ON MY SLEEVE is a new Swedish emo/post-hardcore band that just sounds angry. Don’t read that “emo” to mean MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE or THE USED. This “emo” is more about creating pissed-off punk energy than whining about ex-girlfriends. The overall sound of Blood Is Not Thicker Than Wine reminds me of early-era HOPESFALL. Excuse me while I try to hide my fanboyism for that fantastic band, but HEART ON MY SLEEVE is heavy and melodic in the right ways, just as HOPESFALL was. Female vocalist Ira is ferocious enough to silence the typical female-fronted critics. Her emotion fits very well with the music. Sadly the lyrics are fairly indecipherable at times, but the energy helps elevate the backing music. Like HOPESFALL, the guitars often drift into spacey leads just as often as they speed up to hardcore riffs. While I am certainly talking up the band, the fact is that over the four songs the band has released, there is a lot to enjoy, but it’s not as melodic as I would have liked. The fact that the lyrics are often unclear creates the feeling that Ira is just screaming into the mic for no reason. Over four songs, the moments like that aren’t frequent enough to really drag down the EP, but over a full length, it may rear its ugly head too much to handle. What we are left with is a fairly enjoyable angry old school emo/post-hardcore album.       – by Nicholas Senior

Recommended Listening: “Blood and Wine”
Release Date: January 25th, 2011
In Conclusion: Fans of 90s emo/post-hardcore will enjoy the throwback sounds of HEART ON MY SLEEVE, but some nagging vocal problems keep this short EP from taking the next level.