The Number Twelve Looks Like You’s original nine-year run took listeners on a wild ride, and whether it was their earlier days that felt like a chaotic fusion of post hardcore and mathcore with grind or the dips into progressive metal, the band did a lot of things that helped them stand out. But when groups disband and then return with different lineups, it isn’t uncommon for their sound to shift and evolve and this is exactly what happened with 2019’s Wild Gods. On that album the band seemed to shift more towards post hardcore and a bit more rock and jazz, softening some of their trademark style. Seven years have now passed since that initial comeback, and The Number Twelve Looks Like You has once again had some lineup shifts and continued to tweak their approach. Howls From the Holographic Heart continues the trajectory Wild Hearts started, and while it’s their most melodic to date the dynamic shifts between catchier sections and more aggressive ones makes for an exciting listen.
Like Wild Gods, Howls From the Holographic Heart isn’t a complete departure from what the band did on their first four albums. There are some chaotic and heavy transitions throughout that still remind me of the intensity of Mongrel and Worse Than Alone, but these moments are scattered in between sing-along choruses and progressive post hardcore riffing that feels like a cross between The Number Twelve Looks Like You’s softer, shreddier moments from the past and The Mars Volta. This shift towards more melody had begun to emerge on the last album, but things feel a bit more focused and better executed here and it makes a huge difference. Songs like “Indeciso” show how well the group can do this sound, as initially the groovier rhythms and cadence sounds like it could’ve been ripped right out of The Mars Volta’s The Bedlam in Goliath, but around the halfway point it transitions over to this soaring, entrancing melody that is a bit closer to the current direction Genghis Tron took on their latest album. On the heavier end of the spectrum, “Fangs Out” heads into metallic territory for much of its run and closer “Joy is a Weapon” spends its first minute or so heading back into the chaotic mathcore and chugging that defined the group’s earlier work. Admittedly if you were coming into this album expecting the bulk of the music to be oriented around that, cuts like “Glow in the Dark Skin” and “False Face” where the sound seems more oriented towards 90s and 2000s Tooth and Nail alternative rock and post hardcore may be a shock to the system. But I found that a lot of the appeal to Howls From the Holographic Heart came through the seamless shifts between these poppy elements and the more jagged and wild progressive moments. Some of the alternative leaning tracks are a little too straightforward and start to get repetitive, and I’d be interested in hearing the band expand upon the almost industrial tinged side of “Volcanic March, but as a whole a lot of the material stuck with me.
One of the other elements that defined The Number Twelve Looks Like You’s music in the past was the wide range of vocals they incorporated, particularly on the harsher side. With some of the lineup shifts over time the pitches have changed as well, and while Howls From the Holographic Heart emphasizes singing more than ever before there are still plenty of sections that have some bite to them. Opener “Trust Chaos” reassures long running fans that the harsher end of the spectrum hasn’t been abandoned, as you’re met with abrasive screams and yells as soon as you press play. Despite albums like Nuclear. Sad. Nuclear having turned twenty years old, the screams are just as intense as ever and they add that extra burst of intensity when they appear. But as with the instrumentation, after this initial burst of heavy things skew melodic for awhile as the run of songs from “Glow in the Dark Skin” to “False Face” orient themselves towards different singing pitches that range from brooding and darker to soaring, poppy approaches. The appropriately titled “Fangs Out” is when the screams come roaring back in, and the second half of Howls From the Holographic Heart does offer a bit more back and forth. I did like the inclusion of Foxy Shazam on “Joy is a Weapon”, as the switch from all-out screams and growls early on to the jazzy, Latin flair and emphasis on bigger choruses really closes the album out strong.
Like its predecessor, The Number Twelve Looks Like You’s transition towards more melodic and hook driven writing may be hit or miss with established fans. But while the unconstrained chaos and aggression is now a bit more reigned in and the harsher elements come in controlled bursts, there are still plenty of progressive flourishes and unpredictable aspects of the songs that keep things interesting and the energy at a high. For me, it’s a more consistent listen than Wild Gods and showcases the band can still offer strong material with a significantly different sound. Some of the alternative and post hardcore sections may be a bit too straightforward, but this new approach continues to work for The Number Twelve Looks Like You and I’ll be curious to see if they build upon it even further. Howls From the Holographic Heart is available from Equal Vision Records.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg