Two-man powerhouse American Arson are back with their Facedown Records debut, an ep sure to whet the appetite of post-hardcore fans.
American Arson is a Detroit, Michigan based band that is a project by vocalist/guitarist Evan Baker (ex-Good Luck Varsity) who started the project as GLV was ending. In 2015, Baker added drummer Jesse Gentry and the once solo-project turned into a duo. Not being familiar with the band, I checked out an older track, “Revival in My Lungs” and was pretty much blown away by how full the sound was from the 2-man project. Fast guitars and drums and piercing, gritty vocals characterized the sound on that track. Fast forward to April 2019 and the band now has a presence on Facedown Records and has released a post-hardcore filled ep, along the likes of labelmates Comrades.
The ep conveniently enough has three tracks, “Rise” “&” and “Fall” and show a bit of a maturity compared to earlier material to the point that one might say it’s leans a bit toward the more commercially acceptable. “Rise” is filled with anthemic chorus and gang vocal sections, showcasing some great vocals by Evan Baker, both clean and somewhat rougher in style. The use of the gang vocals in a shout and response section really works within the song and punctuated nicely by Gentry’s drumming. In contrast to the other tracks, “&” perhaps fittingly is filled with keyboard elements and soaring vocals in a bit of a calm interlude between “Rise” and “Fall” and while it may not stand on its own, it works nicely in this format. “Fall” changes things up with a shouted spoken word over a bass line for an opening amid what sounds much like a wall of feedback. The bass line works really well to keep things moving until the guitars come in with a section of soaring vocals.
American Arson have released a debut ep on their new label that is unfortunately a short 9 minutes spread over three songs but serves well to pique the interest as we await more material.
Rating: 8/10
Written by John Jackson
Tracklist
1. Rise
2. &
3. Fall
Band Members
Evan Baker – Vocals, guitar
Jesse Gentry – Drums, vocals
Release Date: April 5 2019
Record Label: Facedown Records
Weblinks: Facebook / Instagram / Website
Buy the album here:
Holland: First Paradox
Norway: Nordic Mission
Video (audio) for ‘Rise’
Video (audio) for ‘&’
Video (audio) for ‘Fall
