It’s been almost two years to the day since Portland’s Cruel Hand released an album but now the band are back with album number five. ‘Your World Won’t Listen’, released via Hopeless Records, sees the band experiment with some new ideas and further develop the sound they created with ‘The Negatives’.
Album opener ‘Nowhere, Nothing, Never’ begins with suspense building feedback before kicking in with a thunderous guitar riff. Short punchy and negative, with lyrics such as “Nothing is sacred, nothing prevails”, this is a reminder of what Cruel Hand do best.
‘Decompose’, the second single to be lifted off the album, changes the tone of the record slightly with its catchy and almost cleanly sung chorus. ‘Too Far From That’ and ‘Through With You’ are also slightly more mainstream or “pop-punkier” in their approach with their catchier and cleanly sung choruses. These tracks are fairly evenly spaced out throughout the album and despite their slightly more “radio friendly” sound, none of them are particularly memorable.
Tracks three and four change the pace as they both pay homage to the classic thrash metal sounds of bands like Metallica and ‘King’ is a minute long banger. Even the vocals are similar at times, especially during ‘Dead Eyes Watching’, the first single to be released from the album, which eventually slows down to make way for a huge guitar solo over the on-going gang vocals.
Despite experimenting with some new ideas and sounds, Cruel Hand haven’t strayed too far from their foundations and clearly haven’t forgotten their roots. Title track ‘Your World Won’t Listen’, ‘Deep Six Hole’ and ‘Buried Inside’ see the band return to their classic hardcore sound prolific on previous albums ‘Prying eyes’ and ‘Lock & Key’, proving they’ve perfected that craft over the years. ‘Buried Inside’ explores some interesting ideas but once again doesn’t stand out. ‘In This Alone’ also flutters between the two main styles being explored on the album and, although it contains typical hardcore verses, it’s a gang chant heavy track that uses more cleanly sung vocals than any other on the album.
The last two tracks on ‘Your World…’ are the biggest contradictions to one-another on the album. ‘Liquid paper’ is sadly a bit of a mess and lacks any real direction. It’s an obscure pop-punk / cheesy 90s grunge sounding track that really doesn’t suit the overall mood and tone of the rest of the album.
That being said, album closer ‘Threes’ (ignoring the hidden track at the end), ends on a strong high note. Once more Cruel Hand have returned to their perfected, tough hardcore sound they’re most well known for to see out the turbulent journey that is listening to ‘Your World Won’t Listen’.
‘Your World Won’t Listen’ would almost sound like a split record between two different bands if the structure were re-arranged. Although enjoyable overall, this is the most experimental Cruel Hand have ever sounded and, whether or not that’s a step in the right direction, it is likely to divide.
JAMES DAVENPORT