Blis.

Starting Fires In My Parents House EP

Written by: LF on 16/02/2015 22:53:54

Blis. is an upcoming indie/emo rock band consisting of four guys from Atlanta, GA. "Starting Fires In My Parents House" is their debut EP release, and in just four tracks spanning around fifteen minutes it does a magnificent job of convincing its listener that this is indeed a band to keep an eye out for. Citing influences from bands like American Football, Pedro The Lion and Weatherbox, the band presents a refreshing batch of energetic and melodic emo rock songs that are well written and feature some pretty addictive guitar riffs along with an expressive vocal performance that covers both clean singing and gravelly yelling that borders on screaming from time to time.

The very first song, "Floating Somewhere High And Above", quickly builds up an angsty sound, accelerating from a quiet, tentative start to screaming and hammering rhythms in its first forty seconds. From here it ebbs and flows wonderfully, but the high level of intensity remains the same throughout the record whether the band plays soft or hard. The expressive vocals on the album remind me mainly of Brian Swindle from Have Mercy, the difference being that while Swindle changes between calm and more desperate vocals, the vocalist of Blis. sounds like he's constantly on the verge of a breakdown. For instance his desperate delivery in this first song of the lines "I sold my soul to Jesus / Turns out that God doesn't need us" stands out as one of the most heavy impacts of the EP overall.

Next song "Savannah" presents a calmer and more moody expression with noodling guitar work dominating throughout. As on the first track, the lyrical hook that catches my attention the most arrives fairly late on the track, this time with the words "I still call my parent's house my home". The softer atmosphere here gives a different kind of melancholic space for the shivering vocals to linger in and this is an even more prominent feature in the following song, "Stationary Life", even though it ends up combining the very melodic softness with some crushing screams that are held in the background of some heavy rhythms towards the end. After this, "You Can Tell A Lot" enters with a more playful beat and more upbeat guitar melodies. It evolves more straightforwardly than the previous songs and sadly ends fairly abruptly. It has one of the most addictive guitar riffs of the EP in it, but is otherwise definitely the least interesting track here, even though its vibrant sound puts it not far behind the previous tracks.

Overall, this is an EP that I have definitely not had enough of just yet even though it is not perfect. The songs are well-composed and have some interesting riffs and rhythms, but I could do with some more memorable vocal melodies here and there to tie it all together. Still, I would recommend the EP to anyone with an interest in music that can be both gloomy and explosive in the same breath as the very successful combination of these elements is what really impresses about the release.

Download: Floating Somewhere High And Above, Savannah
For The Fans Of: Have Mercy, Weatherbox, American Football
Listen: facebook.com/blismusic

Release date 10.02.2015
Soft Speak Records

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