Coliseum

Sister Faith

Written by: AP on 24/10/2013 20:55:31

Outside of the live setting, Louisville, KY born Coliseum have always been hard to like. Commonly labeled a stoner-punk band, the trio's sound is best described as an amalgamation of Canadian melodic noise-punks KEN mode and the raucous punk'n'roll of The Bronx. But where both of those outfits have succeeded, at some stage in their careers, in crafting memorable songs, in my ears Coliseum have never managed this to a similar degree - they've always been good, but never ones to keep my eyebrow raised for too long. Though technically impressive, the group's previous effort "House With a Curse" (2010) wanted too many things at once, and as as result, it ultimately lost sight of its ambitions, so it was only natural Coliseum would dampen their experimental flair somewhat on its successor, "Sister Faith", and focus on their strengths.

Unfortunately that focus is kept far too sternly. With a handful of exceptions in the slow and understated "Love Under Will", which benefits from vocalist Ryan Patterson's tempering his customary roar and inserts more room between each drum hit so as to conjure a lofty, contemplative atmosphere; the down trodden sludge trudger "Everything in Glass", with its unexpectedly bright and poppy chorus; and "Fuzzbang", which, according to Coliseum, unearths the formula for the near-perfect rock song. Together with the tongue-in-cheek "Black Magic Punks" (featuring Boris' Wata), which tells of witchcraft-wielding punks "with the black jeans and the black t-shirts", whose magical powers derive from "decades of sweat from punks unheard", the persistently uplifting "Fuzzbang" is an interesting inclusion on "Sister Faith", given the album's thematic content: the inevitability of death, the absurdity of faith, and what it means to be an alive knowing all will eventually end.

Without these four tracks, "Sister Faith" offers little else than dime-a-dozen dross of the sort that the already mentioned Bronx, as well as Cursed and Doomriders, are able to deliver in a much more enthralling format. Whether it's the opener "Disappear From Sight", "Doing Time", "Used Blood" or "Bad Will", the approach remains constant - and not in a particularly positive way. Even so, however, most of the material on offer here features quality musicianship at the very least; the kind that's likely to keep you entertained for the duration of each track, when heard independently. The odd few highlights - "Love Under Will", "Late Night Trains" and "Fuzzbang" - do prevent the LP from lapsing into total anonymity, but ultimately, "Sister Faith" passes by without much fanfare, and will probably dissolve from my remembrance in a swift manner.

6

Download: Last/Lost, Love Under Will, Late Night Trains, Fuzzbang
For the fans of: The Bronx, Cursed, Fucked Up, KEN mode
Listen: Facebook

Release date 30.04.2013
Temporary Residence

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