Braid - No Coast
Braid
No Coast
Tiger Rating: 3.5 / 10
Emo / Post-Hardcore
Having played their 600th show this year, Braid have risen from the ashes of their '99 break-up and various side projects, to reform and pour their still angsty hearts out on "No Coast".
As is the case with many a fated comeback album, "No Coast" should probably have been titled "No Clue". It may partly be that I have long outgrown two chord bands in their Chuck Taylors, flippy fringes and lip piercings, but I feel mostly that this band never managed to outgrow the sound that defined them. Argue that good bands stay true to their roots and many will agree, but I believe that good music should reflect growth and growth means risk. There is very little of that here.
Barely being able to distinguish one track from another, this album moshes along in feeble, 90s nostalgia, sounding a lot like a less snarky, likable Blink 182. One of the tracks that stands out slightly more than the rest "Many Enemies" asserts that if you "ask for the truth, you get it / believe what you want and that's your truth". That's probably the most interesting statement on this album.
If there are still legions of Braid fans out there, they are probably thrilled with this album. They're probably great guys and if so, good for them. A comeback album after so long a time is very commendable indeed. It just sounds irrelevant. At best it sounds like a hybrid of Death Cab and Cloud Nothings. With more pallid, blah vocals and weedier guitars. Not the best album I've heard this year by far. Listen if you want to relive your black, flippy hair roots.
WVS
As is the case with many a fated comeback album, "No Coast" should probably have been titled "No Clue". It may partly be that I have long outgrown two chord bands in their Chuck Taylors, flippy fringes and lip piercings, but I feel mostly that this band never managed to outgrow the sound that defined them. Argue that good bands stay true to their roots and many will agree, but I believe that good music should reflect growth and growth means risk. There is very little of that here.
Barely being able to distinguish one track from another, this album moshes along in feeble, 90s nostalgia, sounding a lot like a less snarky, likable Blink 182. One of the tracks that stands out slightly more than the rest "Many Enemies" asserts that if you "ask for the truth, you get it / believe what you want and that's your truth". That's probably the most interesting statement on this album.
If there are still legions of Braid fans out there, they are probably thrilled with this album. They're probably great guys and if so, good for them. A comeback album after so long a time is very commendable indeed. It just sounds irrelevant. At best it sounds like a hybrid of Death Cab and Cloud Nothings. With more pallid, blah vocals and weedier guitars. Not the best album I've heard this year by far. Listen if you want to relive your black, flippy hair roots.
WVS
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