Across Five Aprils
Living in the Moment
Indianola
Despite having a clichéd emo name, Across Five Aprils (who borrows their name from a depressing Irene Hunt novel) is actually quite good at what they do. They blend the melodic, crunching guitars of Grade, the vocal styling of Thursday and the growling screams and chugga chugga breakdowns of Floorpunch! It’s a rather strange combination, but it works rather well on Living in the Moment.
A lot of people have compared these guys to Underoath, but they’re not nearly as violent as Underoath, so don’t be tricked! Across Five Aprils owes a lot more to Grade than anyone else. “Answers in the Eyes” follows the standard Grade formula for success: rocking intro, subdued verse with actual singing, crazy and loud chorus with screaming, back to aforementioned verse, back to crushing chorus, then an awesome guitar solo with slight NYHC breakdown, back to the chorus to close it out. It’s a great formula, and it sounds awesome when these guys use it! Besides, Grade was awesome, so why not use them as a jumping off point?
What I’m trying to get at is that these guys aren’t very original, but they really rock out. Their melodies are incredibly catchy, and the production value is of the highest caliber. Fans of the current “screamo revolution” won’t be disappointed with this one. Fans of late ’90s screamo, however, will probably appreciate this a little more than “the kids.”
Indianola: http://www.indianolarecords.com
