Go Forth

Mindful

Written by: MBC on 23/10/2013 21:20:11

Anyone in need of an autumn pick-me-up look no further, We Are Triumphant has yet another great record out for you. "Mindful", the debut album of Auburn, New York’s Go Forth, is a melodic hardcore gem that is sure to inject some positivity into its listeners. Clocking in at about 27 minutes, this is a short, but sweet record consisting of seven efficient songs and one somewhat superfluous interlude.

The songs on "Mindful" are textbook melodic hardcore with raw riffage combined with melodic licks that switch often between fast and slow tempos. The songs are filled with powerful, emotional lyrics of angst, loss, despair and hope that are sure to please fans of other related acts such as Hundredth and Stick To Your Guns. This affiliation could be considered the weak point of the album, since very little originality is present. However, although having a similar approach to song writing as other bands of the genre, Go Forth does not formulaically shove singing parts into their songs, in fact there is no clean singing on the album at all, which is great because it isn't needed.

First track "Le Mans" is a powerful tale of domestic dysfunction that starts off with a brief melodic guitar riff soon to be joined by vocalist Max Gouldner’s aggressive scream. The song ends with him repeating “I've got to let go, I need to move on” again and again, truly convincing the listener that getting out of this bad situation has been absolutely necessary. Gouldner screams with tremendous passion and emotion and gets his message across effectively. He does however scream in the standard hardcore mid-to-high pitch all the time and sounds a lot like Chadwick Johnson from Hundredth, thus he is not to be considered a vocal innovator.

On "Truly", one of the strongest songs on the album, the band varies from the formula a bit with a melodious sequence where the instrumentation has a strong contrast to Gouldner’s screaming, similar to songs of Being As An Ocean. In the song he makes a strong statement with the lyric: “Pursuing dreams until the end of my days, I'll leave my mark on this earth”, which could be an indication of the band’s ambition to make a name for themselves on the hardcore scene. Another highlight is the song "Balance" in which an existential question is asked: “Why do the good die young, and the ones who take everything for granted still walk among us, living empty lives for the sake of false happiness?” These are intelligent lyrics that should appeal to mindful (pun intended) music fans.

Go Forth are certainly not prophets of hardcore, but sure do deliver a rock solid effort on their debut album. The running time is short and with only seven actual songs (eight including the minute-long interlude), it seems more like an EP than an actual debut album. Seven good songs are still better than thirteen bad ones though, and "Mindful" is a great debut for this young, talented band.

Download:Le Mans, Truly, Balance
For The Fans Of: Hundredth, The Ghost Inside, Stick To Your Guns
Listen: Facebook

Release Date 09.10.2013
We Are Triumphant

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