Something More My Style

• Artist: Between Home And Serenity
  
• Album: Power Weapons In The Complex
  
• Year: 2005
  
• Why I picked it up: I don't really know. It just looked nice. The band name felt like something I might like, the cover was plain but unique... Whatever

Between Home And Serenity is a band which produces a contemporary post-hardcore sound, and while this is more of what I would generally listen to myself, there's little that makes this band stand out--besides the fact that they don't play their sound all too well. All the songs sound similar (with quite a few even having much too similar opening riffs), with a generic (although poor) singing voice (I even caught him miss a note once or twice), not too powerful scream, and weak bass lines. Although, the guitar work (nice riffs and good mixing of heavier sounds and breakdowns) and drumming is solid, but the poor performances from the singer and bassist really detract from their contributions. There are no really profound lyrics to save them, either, as they offer pearls of wisdom such as "this visible camouflage is visible to the eyes," which really doesn't mean anything. If they were trying to be ironic, it fell short. If they were trying to be deep, they ought to step out of the pond first. The uninspired emo breakdown in the middle of "Words Unspoken" was just too cliché for me to handle, and I had to walk away from the album for a while.

This is a genre I love, and this band does not do it justice. For similar contemporary post-hardcore (done well), go to bands like We Are the Ocean, Silverstein (older stuff, especially), A Breach On Heaven, or Drop Dead, Gorgeous first.

• Standout track: To Redefine
  
• MySpace: Between Home And Serenity
  
• How much I would've paid: $2
  
• Rating: 2/5