Great Falls – A Sense of Rest (Post-Prefix Hardcore)

 

There was something to this one I couldn’t find the adjectives to explain, and then it came to me, just choose a prefix or two, though I’ll focus on “un.” Unengaging, ungood, see how easy? Let me explain further so it’s more unclear. Post-hardcore goes in one of two directions: interesting or uninteresting. The further it moves away from the old pre-post genre, the ununbetter, but it all depends on its parts becoming a concise whole. Great Falls have the benefit of not taking themselves entirely serious (band interests: making music, hurting), which gives their clever delivery and cultural criticism an edge, but A Sense of Rest is lacking in one unimportant detail that is actually important, and it’s not a prefix.

  

This is one of those albums that hits hard at first but then refuses to pull punches. A Sense of Rest, musically, is a prefixal treat. Love the cover by Farel Dalrymple, won’t get sick of that, and Great Falls bend their strings into chaotic dissonance and their impulsive tempo cuts are ununpleasant. At first I was all in but…those unvocals, which are of that annoying delivery I’ll over-explain as “mom-I-don’t-wanna-do-homework angry teen without a job but give me the keys I wanna hit the skate park and see Sarah.” What A Sense of Rest needed was power and variation, but as dude’s voice cracks and he strains to find some beast within it all turns into unscreams. It’s deceptive in that you likely won’t notice at first, but the longer you listen, the more unsettling it becomes. Next time bend those vocal chords like I do prefixes, sir.

 

Great Falls Official Facebook

Written by Stanley, Devourer of Souls

Great Falls – A Sense of Rest
Corpse Flower Records, Init Records, Throatruiner Records
3.8 / 5