REVIEW: GILT-IGNORE WHAT'S MISSING

 

2020

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Since 2017, Jacksonville Florida post-hardcore band GILT has been steadily touring and cutting their teeth in the local scene and beyond, releasing a steady stream of EP's and splits while touring the US. From each release to the next the band continued to evolve their sound, and their first full length "Ignore What's Missing" is no different, representing a huge step forward with an extremely well crafted and musically diverse record that still manages to make sense as a whole despite the many different influences spread across it.

From the opening title track onward, "Ignore What's Missing" packs a ton of emotion in it's 12 song runtime. At the heart of it I guess you could simply call Gilt a post-hardcore band, though their sound definitely pulls from many different genres across the punk spectrum. Songs like the aforementioned opener and "Sink and Tithe" have a brooding and contemplative mood to them, while songs like "Charity" and "Car Seat" pack a punch that musically bring to mind high energy punk/hardcore bands such as Drug Church or Thursday. It's commendable that the mixing of styles throughout the record doesn't do anything to hurt the flow/mood of the album, with the mixing of different genres and sounds flowing together well as opposed to being overbearing or inconsistent. The somber mood the band hits with this record definitely reminds me of many of the more modern emo/post hardcore bands (The Hotelier, The World Is A Beautiful Place..., etc) that in the past decade have released now beloved albums, and I could certainly see GILT joining them as more people hear this LP over time.

Overall, GILT have put out an extremely impressive debut LP that I imagine will only become more and more appreciated with time. Musically it's quite a leap from their earlier material, and shows a band that's worked very hard to make waves in the Florida scene and beyond. I'm certainly looking forward to seeing the band continue to evolve and to see where this release will take them next. Definitely highly recommended if you're a fan of emotional and heartfelt punk music.

Purchase "Ignore What's Missing" from GILT Here

REVIEW: BALL OF LIGHT-2 SONG EP

2020

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While the vast majority of my 2020 listening slate has been filled with listening to ear splitting and volatile hardcore and tons and tons of hip hop of all different kinds, Cincinatti metal trio Ball Of Light's 2 song EP has been a refreshing reminder of  how potent and crushing post metal can be, specifically if it packs the tremendous bite that this release does. The band also has another interesting ace up their sleeve with Gared O' Donnell from the legendary Planes Mistaken For Stars playing backup guitar and vocals as a guest on both these songs.

Opening with "Under Red Skies", Ball Of Light waste no time hitting you with a crushing section immediately. I definitely recalled the classic Baroness EP's One and Two while listening to this, as well as bands such as Akimbo and City Of Ships. The music is as catchy as it is heavy, and I found myself listening to these two songs on repeat for quite a while mutliple times. That the band was able to incorporate Gared into the fold so organically is also impressive, as his contribution fits perfeclty within their sound, and adds an extra layer of atmosphere that really takes these two tracks to the next level. Closing song "Burden" is a bit slower/more morose than the first, but still has it's fair share of heaviness as well. It's been a while since I've heard a band rip through the post metal sound with such an urgency and punch, and it's definitely a refreshing take on a genre that admittedly at times has not thrilled me in recent years.

All and all, Ball Of Light's new EP serves as a great indication of where the band is heading, and from what I've listened to on their bandcamp page I'd say these two songs are the band's best to date. I am definitely excited to see what the band has coming up next in regards to a follow up record. You can stream the first song from the release on the band's bandcamp as well as the bandcamp of Rad Girlfriend Records, who will be releasing the songs as a 7 inch. I highly recommend checking this out if you're a fan of older Baroness, Kylesa, or forward thinking and heavy post metal in general.

 Preorder "2 Song EP" from Rad Girlfriend Records Here