Cavalcades

Lights Begin To Dance

Written by: PP on 16/07/2015 22:47:36

Not sure exactly how I ran across these Scottish lads, but their soundscape certainly is familiar. Anyone who's paid any attention to the 'wave' brand of post-hardcore / screamo in recent years will instantly recognize elements of Touché Amoré and La Dispute within Cavalcades and their debut album "Lights Begin To Dance". From the emotionally wrought, decipherable semi-screams to the quiet/loud dynamics and a light touch on guitars, everything is sourced from one of the two aforementioned bands in one way or another.

"Lights Begin To Dance" is a fairly uniform album both in terms of its expression and its tempo. Most songs are driven forward in a casual pace, placing the spotlight on the vocal delivery and lyrics. While decent, this isn't the where Cavalcades excel, especially in as crowded genre as this one. More charisma is desperately needed, and variety wouldn't hurt either because the songs very quickly start blending into one another. That being said, the lack of distortion on the lead guitars does add an interesting atmosphere to the record overall, and when that melodic and light touch is contrasted with the desperation-driven screams, the result is surprisingly good. The songs are not particularly flashy, it's as if the songs sneak in during the middle of the night into your subconscious, where they begin to open up properly. This is usually a key sign of depth on most albums, and that is also the case on "Lights Begin To Dance". It's a fact that the amount of layering and progression present on especially the second half of the album suggests there's longevity and depth on the album.

However, there's just one problem. Where Touché Amoré have their "~" and La Dispute have "King Park", Cavalcades lack a striking track that would draw the crowds their way. A highlight track is badly needed to elevate their expression to the next level, especially because the majority of tracks on "Lights Begin To Dance" follow in the same theme: slow tempo with coarse vocals, plenty of quiet/loud dynamics, and undistorted guitars. As it stands now, "Lights Begin To Dance" is a decent album, but it gets lost in the noise of a multitude of similar sounding bands and albums out there.

Download: Orchard Street, First Ice On Pavement, Burning Matchsticks, Artificial Warmth
For the fans of: Touché Amoré, Gatherer, La Dispute, Hotel Books, Defeater
Listen: Facebook

Release date 30.04.2015
I.Corrupt Records

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