THE BLACKOUT ARGUMENT

Anyone remember FLYSWATTER or PAINT THE TOWN RED? Me either, but some former members of each band have joined forces in this new German melodic hardcore band. If your eyelid just started twitching, calm down – no one said anything about metalcore. If anything, THE BLACKOUT ARGUMENT takes their influences from further back in the evolutionary scale, from the likes of HANDSOME, FIRESIDE, QUICKSAND or SHIHAD — melodic, angular, hardcore-derived rock songs that mostly manage to skirt the clichés of emo metal that sprung up in those bands' wake. I mean, it is a fine line — a cursory listen would probably make you say "eh, metalcore" and turn it off. But there's something more compelling at work here.

This is a short EP, the second the band has released (after "Munich Angst" last autumn). All six songs (well, five fleshed-out songs and one intro) are faster, punchier numbers, the whole EP zipping by with plenty of energy and spirit, seemingly over before it starts. The riffs are simple and hard-driving, the vocals alternately aggressive and plaintive, and the choruses piled up with layers upon layers of chiming guitars. The songs don't have a lot of individual identity at this point, but the overall sound is an appealing one.

Okay, I guess the line might be too thin for some people. But this isn't the American style of metalcore everyone's sick of. There's obviously more savvy, experience and conviction going into the music of THE BLACKOUT ARGUMENT, and it may be enough to set them apart from the pack. It's hard to give them an unreserved recommendation this early in the game, but I will definitely be looking forward to their full-length debut, to see if this is the beginning of something great.