Reviews

There isn't anything spectacular or incredibly amazing about Sever Your Ties, and there isn't anything you probably haven't heard before. That said, however, Sever Your Ties' debut LP is a good, solid release in the realm of "post-hardcore" or "hard rock." Also, from what I read, SYT is a Christian band, which should have no bearing on your opinion of this release.

From beginning to end, the band keep the tempos strong and the intensity high; there aren't any slow ballads or unnecessary acoustic songs to show the band's sensitive side. But while the band performs well in the genre of music they choose, they also fail to bring any variation to the genre. It doesn't fall into the copy machine of hardcore music, but the music does begin to sound very similar song to song. This release falls directly into the realm of neutrality; it's a good CD, not horrible but also not amazing.

The album's production is well done; it's not overproduced, but a well-mixed display of the band's ability. All the instruments are perfectly audible and no one instrument takes precedence. Again, I would hope a live performance of this band brings something new. Considering that this is a quality debut release from SYT, I see good things coming from them in the future. I hope they don't fall into the quasi-experimentation that some bands get into where they tweak their sound to the point that it doesn't sound anything like previous releases, even though the band insists it was a natural progression.

Sever Your Ties are one of the better bands that have released music this year in my opinion. While it may not reach the Top Ten, it would easily enter the Top Twenty. If you're looking for something you've heard before in the genre of post-hardcore, you can't really go wrong with this release. It may be more of the same, but in this case, it's not the bad thing we've all come to expect.