album review ! :3
eyes set to kill - broken frames (2010)
xxherlastwalkxx 01/03/2024
first review of the new year! wooooo!!
normally i'll give an album more time before reviewing it. to be honest, i've only listened to this album a few times. that being said, broken frames left a pretty good impression on me from even the first listen. the third album from post hardcore band eyes set to kill, it's realized and mature and builds nicely on the band's previous work. this album is all you could ever want when it comes to third wave emo; it's chaotic and energetic while being beautifully melodic and relatively poppy. maybe i'm just forcing an association based on a similar art style between album covers (specifically the rerelease), but it almost feels to me like if plagues-era devil wears prada wrote a pop album. broken frames has a similar sort of metalcorey energy, which shows through the guitar riffs, yet it's a lot easier on the listener to say the least. don't take this comparison too far, both albums and both bands are VERY different, but i feel there's some consideration worth giving towards the potential similarities.
something that this album does really well is its dynamic range, which sadly gets neglected easily in heavier -core releases. a few songs start quietly before building up to match the agression of the rest of the album. the closer, which is much quieter than the rest of the album, never feels forced, it fits with the rest of the album incredibly well because of the dynamic range that had been previously established. it reminds me of the double closer on underoath's lost in the sound of separation, though that album doesn't do as good a job creating an atmosphere where such an epic, atmospheric closer would be necessary. the vocal arrangement is done very well and adds to the dynamicness of the album, where screaming and clean singing are balanced nicely throughout the record. none of the songs sacrifice intensity for the sake of melody, which can be a common problem in choosing to use clean singing rather than screaming. also, to be completely transparent, the melodies and choruses are just really catchy. and there's some really interesting melodic content like in the choruses of "all you ever knew" and "escape," the former of which will be stuck in my head all week. the dense harmonic content also helps keep the intensity high during sung passages, which really reminds me of songs like the title track from senses fail's 2006 album, still searching. ultimately, what i feel is broken frames's best quality is its ability to conjoin the heavier, metalcorey side of emo with the poppier post hardcore sound that's so indicative of third wave. it is a very entertaining and very interesting album, and i highly recommend it if you have not yet heard it.
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