The art of the patient post-rock build up and cathartic hardcore release may have been overdone in recent years, but We Never Learned to Live and Human Futures have largely navigated any potential pitfalls on this split EP. We Never Learned to Live’s ‘Marionettes’ takes its time forging its own structural path, seamlessly blending animated guitar lines with crashing walls of sound. Similarly, Human Future’s ‘Misery Drone’ swells to a climax far subtler than most bands utilising a soft-loud dynamic. Here we have two bands with two individual approaches, both of which are successful on the whole.
Brighton quintet We Never Learned to Live comes across as a lusher, more cinematic, yet more plainly spoken Le Pré Où Je Suis Mort or Sed Non Satiata. This is by no means a bad thing. ‘Marionettes’ steers clear of jagged dynamic passages shoehorned into place in an attempt to be emotive; rather, its journey follows idiosyncratic, reflexive contours. Whereas many similarly-minded bands come off as contrived, We Never Learned to Live’s ‘Marionettes’ progresses with an admirable, natural fluency. There is a cold beauty and human fragility to the track’s shimmering tremolos and expressive rhythm section, and the oscillation between barely audible whispers and vocals somewhere between a wail and a roar is stirring throughout. ‘Marionette’s peaks may be visible from a mile off but that doesn’t make them any less powerful.
Human Future, on the other hand, take an altogether more visceral approach. Between the chugging, almost metalcore-esque guitars, bone-rattling bass and low, barked vocals, ‘Misery Drone’ makes this abundantly and instantaneously clear. Structurally, the restrained repetition and incremental progression is quietly hypnotic in a manner reminiscent of post-metal icons such as Isis or Neurosis. Furthermore, as the spiralling tom-toms give way to a controlled, more conventional drum beat, it is difficult to keep your head from nodding along. Meanwhile, the sextet inch towards a conclusion that unfortunately does not hit as hard as you might expect. Still, ‘Misery Drone’ is a captivating listen that marries some of the best traits of hardcore and post-metal with epic ambitions.
It is these ambitions behind the track, largely, that save Human Future’s ‘Misery Drone’. The same can be said for We Never Learned to Live’s ‘Marionettes’. Both bands work with a formula that many are growing increasingly tired of, yet both have the sincerity to pull it off. ‘Marionettes’ in particular is commendably expressive: achingly delicate one moment, raging the next. Meanwhile ‘Misery Drone’s combination of bruising riffs and haunting melodies make for an interesting combination. Both bands breathe temporary life into ultra-dynamic post-hardcore; how long they can continue to do so remains to be seen.
RICHARD CRAIG