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A Hardcore album with an emotional emphasis uncommon to the genre.-
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| Today Forever: Relationshipwrecks |
Hardcore
Bastardized Records, Massacre Records
January 6th, 2011
- Sovereign - 2:49
- Lady On the Shore - 2:27
- Dynamics - 2:28
- Good Weekend - 2:26
- Waiting Forever - 1:55
- Boreout - 3:30
- The Trial - 2:58
- Stop Boring Us - 1:58
- Relationshipwrecks - 1:45
- Soothe My Soul - 2:21
- Dancing Queen - 2:29
- Thirtysomething - 2:51
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| Review Information |
Release length: 29:55
Review posted on January 4th, 2012
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| | Overall Score: 8.5/10 |
 
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| Discography |
Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed. |
| Full-Length(s): |
The New Pathetic (2006) • Profound Measures (2009) • Relationshpwrecks (2012)
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| Review |
With two full-length recordings under their belt, Today Forever finds themselves sticking around with Bastardized Recordings to jump-start 2012. An early year release, the band's studio time in 2011 has led to their third album, Relationshipwrecks, an album awaited by their German fan base and the inner circles of those in the know outside their home country. Considered legends by many at this point in the game, Today Forever brings a modern production quality to a more mature sounding, yet still rebellious Hardcore album that focuses more on positivity, a concept highlighted by the accompanying press release. Does Relationshipwrecks live up to the expectations set forth on the group, or is this another Hardcore offering that may get lost in the mix outside their homeland?
As mentioned already, this album isn't a raw, rebellious release from the underground. There is a certain maturity to this album that really speaks to anyone willing to listen, and the audio quality captures that well. With a modern audio quality that captures the instruments well, the emotion and passion found here is conveyed superbly. The guitars, while having a bit of a heavier edge to them, definitely give off a slightly lighter environment when needed, and in the somber moments can definitely take on a darker tone thanks to the more liquid-like sound in the distortion, and how it plays with the chords. The bass is a little more evident in the mix, but when it comes to tracks like "Waiting Forever," it's exactly what you want to hear to add that extra emotional kick to the clearly atmosphere-driven sound. The drums are a little varied though, having cymbals pushed back in the mix a bit, while the slightly hollow snares and deep clicking bass kicks are much more vibrant in the final product, working well to keep the songs sounding a little more rich than had they been pushed into the background. Nothing ends up being drowned out though, but you can't help to notice the snares feel a little too loud in the mix and seem to overpower things a little more than they probably should. But, with that aside, the vocals also step up the bat well here, having a strong shouting approach that is on the mid-range side, and never going too deep or into higher, whiny pitches, something all too common in today's more youthful Hardcore sound.
But at the same time, Today Forever isn't really today's Hardcore one hundred percent of the time. In fact, there's a good deal of an old-school approach coupled with catchy hooks and rhythms, though far from treading into Metalcore territory. What early Punk influence is added to "Sovereign" makes it stand out well with a traditional angst drive, but the melody really just makes the song infectious, making you instantly want to join in, especially the short but very sweet breakdown that brings in some solid gang chants. The whole experience is just soaked with an emotional bond that listeners can immediately be hooked by, setting up the rest of the album well. Of course, not all tracks have that earlier Punk influences sound, as "Lady on the Shore" takes on a largely melodic sense that almost treads into the more Progressive sound that has blossomed in the "-core" styles as of late, and Today Forever do a fantastic job of it. The song's beauty feels like water washing over the listener, pushing a strong passion into the material that is rather moving. Unfortunately, the slower, darker breakdown doesn't really work out too well for this track. While its not forced, it's slower pace just doesn't work out too well, especially when it transitions into a more upbeat traditional Hardcore passage for a short time before allowing the bass to ring out and signify its end.
"Waiting Forever" is a song that's worth taking note of, and it's a bit of a rare reason. The track clearly has a little more emotion behind it and takes on that largely melodic sense without the thought of a Progressive influence at play coming to mind. But the song actually seems to act more as a drawn out interlude. It never really goes anywhere by the time you reach the end, but it still feels like a complete song due to the way it will play with how the listener feels during its entire one minute and fifty-five second existence. The title track, "Relationshipwrecks," is about the same, except this one does feel more like an actual interlude as it bleeds into the heavier "Soothe My Soul" nicely. This instrumental really takes the melodic element of the band's music into consideration, and waves together a track you can close your eyes and get lost in. It actually is sad when "Soothe My Soul" bursts in, as you'll only want that instrumental to at least go on just a little longer than it does. Then there's also "The Trial," which includes the background singing again, harmonized nicely in a lower volume against the shouting vocals. The music here also feels a little more on the passionate side, which in turn makes the song feel a lot tighter than if it didn't have that sort of pull to it. But, both of these feel a rather uplifting, the latter of the two a little more on the upbeat side, while the following track "Stop Boring Us" actually has a bit of a more aggressive side. This pulls the listener out of the clouds a bit to remind him or her of the ground that they should be treading on. There's also a few moments that pick up the speed of things, and they are transitioned into nicely, as are the more somber elements of the song such as the closing of the track.
Of course, there are times where that passion doesn't really carry through in the music, though you can tell that the band is trying. "Good Weekend" is one of those times, and the earliest example of it. The song tries to bring in a slight hint of melody while sticking to a stronger traditional Hardcore foundation. The chorus here includes a little more melody in comparison to the rest, and at times the emotional bond is stronger, but outside these areas, it feels more like a tamer version of what the band has the potential to turn out, basically having a bit of a blander sound to it. Thankfully these are few and far between.
There's really nothing all that bad to say about Relationshipwrecks, and it's pretty obvious why this band is so big in Germany. It's sad that the group doesn't seem to have as big a following as they should here in North America, but given what's popular today it's easy to understand why this group is so overlooked. The more traditional material that the group does churn out once in a while on here simply does not hold up to the more mature and melodic tracks that bring a great deal of emotion into the mix, and that really becomes the only aspect that hurts this release. While the band does an excellent job crafting a rather unique Hardcore experience, they seem to have left some of the less unique material unpolished. But, overall, Today Forever has still done a great job with Relationshipwrecks, and it does boast enough material that makes it an album Hardcore fans should definitely check out.
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Digital review copy of this release provided by:
Bastardized Records
via Massacre Records. |
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