Lentic Waters

Lentic Waters

Written by: PP on 03/11/2011 04:16:58

A four and a half-minute intro consisting of quiet, soothing ambiance isn't a good way to introduce a new listener to your eight tracks of gloomy hardcore, no matter how inherent the beauty within the track itself might be. Yet that's precisely what Lentic Waters do on their self-titled album with "The Plunge", fooling the listener into thinking we might be in for something along the lines of envy, or perhaps even Pianos Become The Teeth. Granted, Lentic Waters aren't too far away from either comparison, given that their music positions itself at a halfway point between original screamo (skramz) and hardcore, but the length and disconnected feeling of the intro has been enough to repeatedly have me post-pone listening to the rest of the record countless times already.

Fortunately, the lull is just calm before the storm. Hereafter, Lentic Waters plow through dark and brooding brand of hardcore that occasionally revisits Botch-esque chaos/mathcore elements, while elsewhere taking cues from the murky corners of Watford hardcore (think Gallows) as well as the sheer intensity from the original screamo scene. Their coarsely howling vocalist and the unpredictable tempo variation are the two things Lentic Waters have going for them, but while a track like "The Small Boy And The Sea" successfully combines climaxing build ups and explosively screamed responses in a way that must be nothing short of breathtaking live, there's a consistent nagging feeling at the back of your head thinking that the Germans haven't been able to capture the ferocity or the passion of their live show onto the record as well as one would have hoped. There are glimpses of pure chaos, sure, but overall the quiet/loud dynamic is neither devastatingly chaotic (like the recent Rodeo Idiot Engine album I reviewed) nor catchy enough to make a name for Lentic Waters in a crowded scene.

It's a decent record, sure, but it's also one that's best experienced when seen live. That's something I can attest to without ever having seen these guys before, their record speaks for itself. But it doesn't speak loudly enough for a much higher recommendation than this:

6

Download: A Father's Death, The Small Boy And The Sea
For the fans of: Furnace, His Hero Is Gone, Planks, envy
Listen: Soundcloud

Release date May 2011
Apocaplexy Records / React With Protest / IFB Records

A Father's Death by Lentic Waters

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