Letters

To the swaying beat of a hardened drum line is how the Bay Area’s Troubled Coast lets the music world know that they are here to stay. This message is slowly cemented throughout their pulse pounding and toe tapping debut full length “Letters.” Released by Creator Destructor Records and recorded by Aaron Hellam (At Our Heels, Hope For A.M) this record further expands TC’s progressive brand of melodic post-hardcore into a mixture of sounds that spans the spectrum of emotions we as humans encounter and conquer in our daily lives. 

This album is a far cry from their original 10”100 Miles From Home and the following EP Vagabonds. While the latter is closer to their current polished sound, no listener would ever had guessed what would lay in store for this band based on their first release. Expanding past the basic fast melodic hardcore sound heard on 100 Miles, the band has drawn influences from post-hardcore heroes such as Thrice and Alexisonfire along with bands such as Verse, Have Heart and Crime In Stereo too create a truly unique and powerful sound. 

The opening track “Amends” welcomes the listener to the rough but beautiful aesthetics of TC. Drummer Tahm Aletmus drills a pounding drum line straight into the listeners ear while guitarists Cory Bardwell and Brandon Wark accompany him with a delay heavy, Crime In Stereoesque guitar attack. After this calming introduction TC heads straight on into the exciting melodic sound that they are known for with “Wolf Republic.” Around 45 seconds into the song, vocalist Mike Scornaienchi shows his versatility within the band. Over bassist Randy Staat’s flowing bass line, he transitions from a rough yell to a desperate poetic plea. 

“Breathing” is the next track on the album and is the melodic single on Letters. Beginning with an extremely catchy hook this song keeps a steady head bob throughout its entirety. Scornaienchi bravely chants “If Breathings not for you/Then breathings not me” as a delicate piano accompanies the listener out of the song. In the same sense that “Breathing” is the melodic stand out, the album closer “Love” is the heavy hitter of the album. Reminiscent of Thrice via their Fire EP, this song perfectly expresses a feelings of pain and anguish with its stinging guitars and thumping drums. 

Filling the void between these two tunes are songs such as “It’s Not Good For You” and “Drug Halo” while meld perfectly into each other. Another stand out is “Absent Father, Holy Ghost” which slowly gains speed through a guitar duet that exemplifies the pristine sounds of Wark and Bardwell’s guitar playing through elements of post-rock. The combination of a slightly crunchy overdrive and a clean lead makes this intro one of my favorites. It then picks up into a breakneck speed, post hardcore rager. The song then takes another turn and fades out with a beautiful acoustic outro accompanied by harmonica, reverbed drums and group chanting. Heading straight into “Me and My Shadow” a song reminiscent of Thrice during their Vehissu era, this song gives the feeling of being lost at sea or swirling though some lost portal of space.

This band is just emerging onto the larger music scene but is sure to make some waves with this debut. Truly great bands evolve and that is exactly what Troubled Coast has managed to do in such a short time. We should all be excited for what they have in store. 

Rating: 4.1/5 


Note: This is the most biased review I will ever write