Boy Hits Car

All That Led Us Here

Written by: PP on 20/06/2014 00:10:41

Five albums down and 'lovecore' masters Boy Hits Car continue to be one of the most unique and criminally underappreciated bands on the planet. Though 2005's "The Passage" was an unfortunate mishap in terms of consistency, all their other records have been great, if not outright excellent displays of fresh perspective on music that is essentially nu-metal based, but far from the generic and tired soundscapes of the early 2000s phenomenon. Like their preceding material, "All That Led Us Here" continues to showcase an experimental take on the genre that's part "S.C.I.E.N.C.E" era explosiveness of early Incubus and part crunchy alternative metal in the vein of Taproot that carries a massive emotional charge. Saying this band carries their heart on their sleeves is an understatement; the outpours of passion and emotion has been incredible throughout their career, this album being no exception.

Their signature sound has always been a curious interplay between crunchy, alternative metal guitars with down-low distortion, and an acoustic guitar-led contrasting melody that forms an intriguing soundscape that instantly pushes it far outside of the generic realms of normal nu-metal bands. When you add in peculiar percussion and funky bass lines, the expression becomes not just unique but a timeless combination of multiple genres ranging from alt rock, emocore, and of course nu-metal without really fitting in any category. This is backed by immense choruses with powerful lyrics that capture your imagination, some more profound than others. "Anxious But Gradual Rhythms", for instance, has a huge build up constructed through a clever use of crescendo in repeated lyrics: "Yeah I wanna see a circle...a circle of unity, because it fills my heart with hope, before it sets us free..." before the pressure boils over and the roof is blown off with a full-power screamed "yeah I wanna see a circle pit... I WANNA SEE A CIRCLE PIT" in what will almost certainly be an epic experience in their live shows.

Elsewhere songs like "Silhouettes Fade" and "The Extremist (Do You Feel Me On This?)" offer more instantly memorable material without the unnecessary use of the pop element, as well as borderline screaming, another trademark of Boy Hits Car throughout the years. Vocalist Cregg Rondell has always been among the best in his genre in his ability to break his voice at just the right moments into outright screams from his emotional cleans. This dynamic is what elevates the songs from solid to great, sometimes even incredible. Quiet/loud principles is also heavily used both vocally and instrumentally to achieve a truly dynamic sound that feels both varied and similar at the same time; enough of the former to distinguish the songs clearly from each other, but also enough of the latter to make for a uniform expression.

I could name songs like "Ocean Equation", "Battles Of The Heart", "Come On" and almost every track on the record aside from "What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy)" as highlights, that's how consistent this record is throughout. The latter is the only bad track on the album due to sounding like a cheap Papa Roach song, but even here it's not terrible, just not fantastic like the rest of the material. "Stealing Fire" from 2011 was already a solid album throughout, but "All That Led Us Here" takes it a step further. This is right up there with 2001's self-titled as some of the best material overall Boy Hits Car has written.

Download: Silhouettes Fade, The Extremist (Do You Feel Me On This?), Anxious but Gradual Rhythms, Battles Of The Heart, Ocean Equation
For the fans of: Incubus (S.C.I.E.N.C.E era), Finch, Finger Eleven, Taproot
Listen: Facebook

Release date 02.05.2014
Eternal Sound

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