Broken Hand Charity

Violent Versimo EP

Written by: PP on 17/11/2014 23:34:15

Ugh, what happened here? For a couple of years now Broken Hand Charity, who originate from Copenhagen, Denmark, have been among this country's best hopes for post-grunge / mainstream rock styled after bands like Creed and Alter Bridge, having released a couple of good EPs that have left a good impression behind. Not so much with their latest output "Violent Versimo", which ends up feeling like the band are regressing as a result of trying to write something more ambitious than necessary.

Clearly trying to follow in the same path as Alter Bridge in writing larger-than-life, yet still progressive and intricate material despite featuring radio friendly alternative rock tendencies, the band's efforts fall regrettably short on almost every track on the EP where everything from the shoddy production to the forgettable vocal melodies and riffs are but a shadow of what I'm used to hearing from this band. The vocals echo in a hollow soundscape where they should be forceful and at the front of the mix, especially considering the rather unusual singing style of vocalist Kasper Ljung, which is the primary reason for the Creed/Alter Bridge parallel often mentioned in connection with this band. Instead, the band are trying to sound much bigger than their songwriting allows them to be, resulting in nothingsaying material that even after weeks of listening still doesn't grab the undersigned at all. That's gotta mean something when the previous two EPs were among my favorite Danish releases during their years of release, especially because I'm normally a sucker for this type of Billboard modern rock soundscapes.

While "Kiss From A Crow" shows promise, most songs on the record don't really do much for the listener. Take opener "He Rose". Here, the stoner rock style groove in the opening riff is way too slow and sloppily played, not to even mention the effects on the vocals which feel totally misplaced. It's but one example on a record that feels totally amateurish compared to the material the band has put out in the past. Here's to hoping for this is just a brief misstep while they prepare for a much better full-length release in the future.

4

Download: Kiss From A Crow, Black Spring
For the fans of: Creed, Silence Of September, Alter Bridge
Listen: Facebook

Release date 08.03.2014
Self-Released

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