TOTIMOSHI
Ladron
(Crucial Blast)

SUNNO)))/BORIS
Altar
(Southern Lord)

OM
Conference of the Birds
(Holy Mountain)

DOOMRIDERS
Black Thunder
(Deathwish)

GIANT SQUID
Metridium Fields
(The End)

THE COFFIN LIDS
Round Midnight 

(Bomp)

NACHTMYSTIUM
Instinct Decay

(Battle Kommand)

MORE REVIEWS

About a month ago I sent Ferret Records an e-mail requesting a promo copy of the new Zao record. A few weeks later I got this one in the mail. I popped it in, and this sparrow must confess that it sounds exactly how I imagined. I am not developing psychic powers, I just have a more advanced brain that allows me to attach timeliness, hairdos and artwork to unheard sounds. Gosh, is emo the most predictable of genres or what? If you answered or what, then chances are you dig this brand of rock,; in which case I urge you to run to your nearest record store and get Just Breathe; is raging with rage in just the right moment, and cozy and warm like a teddy bear when you most need it, which in my case is never. Which at the same time disqualifies me to be 100% objective with this sort of material, but I’ll take off my bullshit goggles and try my best to be benevolent and engage myself into this music.

The problem is I kind of can’t. It’s a bit hard because I am not 16 years old, and I can’t pointlessly let my hair grow on one side, and walk with my head tilted to the right, like I am a gothic dude with a bad case of torticollis.  Like their look, Lovehatehero’s music is your typical emo stuff,; one second sorta mad and pissy, and the other totally lovely. Like the problems they just bitched so much about suddenly disappeared to the conventional sounds of those breakdowns. Vocalist Pierrick Berube has a clear voice and when necessary he goes a bit angry, like an infuriated puppy you can calm with a subtle kick to the stifle. In other words, he might be pissed but still sounds totally harmless and whoopass friendly. 

We should probably give it up for Mr. Berube who apparently pours his heart out penning sad lyrics that deal face first with tragedy, personal loss, heartbreak, and betrayal. In other words the same stuff that about 3,005 other bands with the same shopping mall look claim to deal with. The consensus is that this band sounds like many others; their melodies are the same, their topics are the same, their look is the same, pretty much everything is the same. So what can differentiate this band from the rest? Judging by this record, nothing.  Lovehatehero took four months to produce and record Just Breathe, listening to it; I wonder what they were really doing the whole time. Especially considering that these guys are drug-free and have strong morals and ethics. I told Ferret to send me the Zao record, but instead they sent me this.

MySpace