Anxious

Little Green House

Written by: PP on 29/01/2022 12:51:43

It's been a while since we've heard a debut album as great as "Little Green House" by Anxious. Hailing from Connecticut, this group has nailed Title Fight influence down to the letter on their dreamy, emotionally-charged post-hardcore record that also includes elements of alternative rock and pop punk in the process. Through intricate melodies comprised within complex, multi-layered songs, they've found a perfect balance between the quiet and the loud, resulting in some of the best songs you've heard in this genre for the past couple of years.

The first half of the record is more emotive, relying on back-chilling vocal melodies, warmth, and nostalgia in the same expression. "Growing Up Song" is a great example, much like "More Than A Letter" with its brilliant lyricism. These are more melodic in nature, although still carrying themselves with a similarly depth-laden, treble-charged guitar lines as Title Fight did during their genre classic "Floral Green". The latter track's guitars are eerily similar to what those guys did on that fantastic record ten years ago, plus the clean vocals offer a similarly dreamy, misty mood that just fits perfectly with the melancholia found within the instrumentation.

The first half of the record is already brilliant, but where Anxious hits the home run is from "Speechless" onwards. A loud, bombastic guitar melody opens the song and recalls something written by Daylight on their criminally underrated cult classic "Jar", where scratchy, halfway screamed vocals contrast emotive cleans that bring to mind early 2000s heydey of post-hardcore (think Hawthorne Heights, Silverstein and the like). When put together, the melody is awe-inspiring and demonstrates a perfect combination of mellow vibes, crunchy distortion, and passionate screams.

The more aggressive approach to songwriting continues on album highlight "Let Me" (featuring Pat Flynn of Fiddlehead, Have Heart fame). Here, incredibly playful, coarse vocal lines combine with infectious guitar hooks for a multifaceted, intricate expression that brings out the very best of emo and alternative rock in the same song. It's almost as if Touché Amoré teamed up with Title Fight for this one, and as you can imagine, the outcome is pure genre perfection. Layers upon layers of innovative songwriting unraveling almost on a second-by-second basis.

With songs like "In April" displaying a softer and more dreamy approach in direct contrast to the harsh backing screams of "Call From You", the album features so much variety that you'll be exploring the various nuances and rich detail for weeks, if not months to come, once you've uncovered the depth laying underneath the nostalgia-laden surface. The emotional charge is palpable and a huge reason why the record feels so loaded with urgency. When every song is a banger on "Little Green House", it's difficult to let go of what is surely an instant genre classic, a breath of fresh air, and arguably the album of the year candidate only a few weeks into 2022.

9

Download: Growing Up Song, Let Me, Speechless, Call From You, In April
For the fans of: Title Fight, Basement, Nai Harvest, Citizen, Daylight, Fiddlehead
Listen: Bandcamp

Release date 21.01.2022
Run For Cover Records

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