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Like a lot of the other bands that formed around the same time in the screamo and post hardcore genres, Touché Amoré earlier days were marked by short, punchier songs that crammed a lot of riffs and emotional vocals into a short span of time. Albums like …To the Beat of a Dead Horse and Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me flew by but had plenty of substance to keep listeners coming back for more. Over time this new generation of bands would find their own directions to go in, with some favoring more atmospheric post rock and others keeping a heavier edge. Touché Amoré’s opted for a mix of post hardcore and melodic hardcore with dashes of indie rock on their more recent efforts, spending just as much time on brighter spots in between the more emotional and aggressive outbursts. This year’s Spiral In A Straight Line makes some subtle tweaks to the styles the band had explored on Stage Four and Lament, and while it’s not a huge leap the sheer amount of stand-out moments makes this another triumph for this long-running act.
“Nobody’s” is an explosive opener that showcases just how well Touché Amoré is able to fuse the aggressive and melodic sides of their sound in a short period of time, as it moves between punchier riffing that has a more hardcore edge to it and shimmering melodies that bring in a more alternative and indie rock tone. That familiar transition from high-energy riffing to more exploratory and introspective makes the track immediately draw you in, and this is followed up by the twisting and turning “Disasters”, which brings in the more angular nature of post hardcore but still gives a brief respite towards the end to explore some softer textures. Spiral In A Straight Line has even more of a rock slant than the previous two albums, but that rougher and emotional core remains and it makes for material that finds slightly different ways to get under your skin with each song. I particularly like the one/two punch of “Force of Habit” and “Mezzanine”, as the former opts for a slower build-up and sparser melodies that are much more emo sounding while the latter explodes into a flurry of post hardcore riffs that remind me of At The Drive In. Touché Amoré has explored this particular combination of styles before, but it comes across as more fluid and intertwined this time around and the songwriting has memorable moments to back it up. It also helps that the production values are immaculate, bringing that indie rock together with just the right amount of rawness to give some bite to the more hectic moments. The only song I don’t outright love is “Subversion (Brand New Love)”, as it spends a bit too long on sparser instrumentation and doesn’t quite have the same payoff as some of the others on the album. But that’s a small nitpick as the bulk of the record has stuck with me for days.
The emotional delivery and thought-provoking lyrics Jeremy Bolm provides has set Touché Amoré apart since their earlier days, and even as albums like Stage Four served as an outlet for Bolm to process grief there was still plenty listeners could relate to. As someone that doesn’t like to focus too much on individual lyrics in reviews since each person interprets words and themes differently, I won’t deep dive into anything specific on Spiral In A Straight Line but it the album title and some of the lyrics suggest the idea of trying to move forward from grief and other deep emotions but still spiraling back into them. There are quite a few sections that stand out from both a lyrical and vocal standpoint, with “Force of Habit” in particular grabbing me early on thanks to how the yelled/spoken word sections stand out above the sparser instrumentation. Bolm finds a sweet spot between the emotional outbursts and brighter singing ranges, and the performance gets under your skin from beginning to end. For Spiral In A Straight Line Touché Amoré brought in two guests, with Dinosaur Jr./Sebadoh’s Lou Barlow joining the band on “Subversion (Brand New Love)” and Julien Baker appearing near the end of “Goodbye For Now”. Both fit their respective songs well and don’t overshadow the rest of the group, making them an effective addition to the material.
Touché Amoré has naturally evolved over time, and their latest full-length reaches an even finer balance between the post hardcore and rock sides of their sound. It’s still an album that flies by quickly and only occasionally takes the time to slow down and spread things out a bit more, but there is plenty of substance in these short bursts and specific riffs and lyrics that will have listeners hitting repeat. Stage Four set a very high bar back in 2016, and while time will tell where this latest effort lands as far as a similar lasting impact, even at this early post release stage it comes close. Spiral In A Straight Line is available from Rise Records.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg