Imagine your ears could feel, the way your hands can. I know that's a stupid fuckin way to open a music review, but I'm setting up a metaphor so bear with me.
Imagine your ears could feel. the way your hands can. Touching the edges of this new Wreckage record, Our Time, would feel familiar.
I'm reminded of bands like Fury and Mil-Spec by the Youth Crew riffs, the melodic flourishes, and the vocal phrasing. That Mosher's Delight scene is probably influential, due to time and proximity, on the young crop of New Englanders who make up Wreckage and their general social scene.
But once your ear hands get the appropriate amount of time needed to feel out this record, you start touching some things you wouldn't expect. This record has speed and bounce. I'm talking blast beats and Victory-style metallic chunkiness.
The recently defunct band Pummel would be a good comp, as they and Wreckage both incorporate open note chug into their formula, while still sounding relatively straightforward and not like a '90s retread. Wreckage accomplishes this by injecting a healthy dose of melody. The tunefulness ties the songs together with a neat bow and serves as a hallmark for the band's unique sound.
Wreckage Guitarist Matt said in a 2023 No Echo interview that the band wanted to evade classification beyond just “a hardcore band." Our Time actually nails that. This record is impossible to pigeonhole because there's so much going on. It all blends seamlessly, though.
I don't get the sense that someone came to Wreckage practice with a Turning Point part and someone else came with a Despise You part and they tried to mash them together. This seems like a conscious effort to write a good hardcore record by occasionally zigging where you would expect a band to zag.
Wreckage comes from a couple promising young scenes, both from their label, Scheme Records, and from their geographic area. The aforementioned Pummel walked so that fellow New England upstarts like Wreckage, Ankle Biter, and Broken Vow could run.
All of those bands have received a little bit of national recognition, but Our Time might be the most fully realized release from that crop to date. Those other bands are going for a clearly defined, pre-existing sound. Wreckage is forging their own path, and have come out of the gate with something distinct.
There are a couple bumps in the road, of course. There are some messy transitions. A couple songs get so unconventional that they don't really pay off in the end. We expect to feel bumps on a young band's second release. What we don't always expect is something so sure of itself. Wreckage exude confidence. They also have the creative chops to back it up.
That swagger doesn't just pay off on Our Time—it paints a promising picture of what could be on the horizon. How exciting!
Get It
- Scheme Records (vinyl)
- Bandcamp (digital)
Tagged: wreckage
