Ivy League TX

Transparency

Written by: PP on 23/12/2013 00:28:10

Title Fight's "Floral Green" was a monumental record last year whose influence is sure to be felt throughout the rest of this decade. Their dreamy, depth-driven melodies were as complex as they were intriguing and catchy, as challenging as they were rewarding once you 'got them' after loads and loads of repeat listening sessions. It was an album in the truest meaning of the word rather than a collection of songs, so it's no wonder it has spawned a number of soundalike bands since then with Daylight and Turnover at the forefront. Ivy League TX is the next band falling under their formidable sphere of influence, based on their debut album "Transparency".

"Transparency" sounds so remarkably similar to "Floral Green" that I had to check multiple times that I wasn't listening to a collection of leftover songs from that album's recording sessions. Songs like "Watch You Suffer" are delivered by Josh Huff with a similar half-shouted, half-screamed vocal style, drawing equally much from post-hardcore as he does from punk rock bands like Make Do And Mend. On surface, they feel simplistic, but the underlying depth first begins to open up after you've spent some quality time with the record, because there are so many layers of intricacy hidden underneath the basic punk/hardcore/post-hardcore surface. Much of this has to do with the sense of passion that Huff has to his vocals, and his ability to vary his delivery from clean vocals to scratchy, throaty screams that place focus on key lyrics to highlight them in the song. But more importantly, the instrumentals vary from breakneck speed punk rock passages to more contemplative and angular sections often within the same song, giving passages a wholly differentiated feel, yet one that when compiled together makes for a great, naturally flowing song.

Usually when two bands sound as similar as is the case here, it is the band that arrived to the scene later that ends up sounding less good in comparison. That is also the case here, but only partially, because throughout "Transparency" Ivy League TX display an ability to play almost on par with Title Fight, and this is only their debut album. Let's put it this way: if your songs sound like songs from the "Floral Green" sessions, you're gonna be good no matter what. This particular style is still fresh enough for many bands to sound very similar to each other without feeling tired, and hence Ivy League TX's "Transparency" feels like the perfect accompanying album to "Floral Green", while we're waiting for the next Title Fight album to land.

8

Download: Void, Coalesce, Losing Sleep, Transparency, Watch You Suffer
For the fans of: Title Fight, Daylight, Citizen, Turnover, Basement, Make Do And Mend
Listen: Bandcamp

Release date 05.08.2013
6131 Records / Fist In The Air Records

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