Placeholder

Nothing Is Pure

Written by: TL on 28/05/2012 15:27:56

The name Placeholder covers a five-piece with members from Pennsylvania and Maryland who came together as late as March last year, and who managed to put out their very first full length "Nothing Is Pure" already in December. On it they map out their territory in the borderlands between emo, emocore and punk-rock, taking departure in highly melodic, sentimental riffs alá those of Further Seems Forever, Taking Back Sunday or Daytrader and then leaning the whole thing in a more raw, often fast-paced direction, dragging the expression halfway over into something similar to Polar Bear Club, Balance And Composure and at times I think even the legendary Rites Of Spring.

With a good dose of unquestionable conviction and a production that is well balanced between not-too-fuzzy and not-too-clean, "Nothing Is Pure" proves a highly enjoyable proposition then, for anyone with an affection for the sounds of emo(core)'s golden age. Second track "Resent" quickly establishes itself as the pick of the litter, sporting by far the catchiest chorus with the drawn out yell of "so you say you wan't a second chance, why boooootheeeer?", yet others, like the down-tempo closer "Only Ever After" and the angry "Dying For Nothing" are also good examples of Placeholder being on to something.

Now it could be because they're such a young band, but when we're done counting highlights it must also be observed that "Nothing Is Pure" lacks some of the traits required for being labelled as a masterpiece. Apart from the songs mentioned so far, the tracks on the album - although enjoyable - are hardly very strong or memorable individually, which means that there's work to be done in the departments of diversity and simple hook writing. It's a little boring to say, but these are the same weaknesses that hinder pretty much every band that are either too young or too content to have taken their game to more than a niche audience, and as with many such bands, Placeholder's "Nothing Is Pure" is a good example of a decent first effort, if not a record many will be likely to return to for many spins in the long run.

7

Download: Resent, Dying For Nothing, What This Means, Only Ever After
For The Fans Of: Further Seems Forever, Polar Bear Club, Texas Is The Reason, Daytrader, Rites Of Spring, Balance And Composure
Listen: facebook.com/PlaceholderPA

Release Date 20.12.2011
Better Days

Related Items | How we score?
Comments
comments powered by Disqus

Legal

© Copyright MMXXIV Rockfreaks.net.