Los Angeles – The musical landscape has changed quite significantly over the first half of this decade; there is no better proof of this rapid shift in tastes than the situation in which West Chester, PA melodic hardcore trio Spraynard find themselves.
In the early 2000’s, the band’s brand of raw, emotional pop-punk was hugely popular. More pop-oriented bands in the genre like Taking Back Sunday and Brand New even experienced moderate mainstream success. After two well-received albums in 2012 ,Spraynard took what was intended to be a short break – that short break morphed into a three year hiatus. With the release of their third full-length, Mable, vocalist Patrick Graham, drummer Patrick “Dos” Ware, and bassist Jake Guralnik return to a music scene that has largely lost interest in emocore. Suddenly they stand out as a bit of indie rock outsiders.
Mable is fittingly being released by the seminal Jade Tree Records. Jade Tree brought the world landmark melodic hardcore releases such as Faster, Harder, Louder and Very Emergency. It is clear that Spraynard is attempting to replicate those genre classics. With blistering paces, gravely-yet-melodic vocals, and frequent use of gang vocals, Spraynard fit swimmingly alongside their labelmates.
“Applebee’s Bar” opens Mable with shouted vocals from Graham and a simple arpeggiated chord progression. In a perfectly-calculated moment of punk rock song craft, “Applebee’s bar” explodes into a joyful mess of distorted octave guitar chords and hoarsely delivered vocals. From this point on, the album rarely switches from this fast, hard, and loud dynamic.
With clean guitars during the opening verse, “Pond” seems like it may transport Spraynard’s sound to more laid back destinations; distortion explodes into the mix just 15 seconds later. “Bench” actually succeeds in providing Mable with a short respite from the breakneck speeds by slowing to half-time. As if to make up for the slow pacing of “Bench”, one of the most frenetic moments on the album “Listen to Me” follows it bringing pogo-perfect bass lines and razor-sharp guitar riffs.
While poppy hardcore is exhilarating in small doses (and especially in a live setting), over the course of a full length album it can become monotonous. Luckily, Spraynard are able to cram in enough hooks and slight dynamic shifts to keep things interesting for the full running length of Mable. Perhaps the pick scrapes, feedback intros, and gang vocals are hardcore clichés, but Spraynard clearly understand how to use these elements in moderation and execute them well when they are used.
Stretching out over five minutes (twice as long as most of the other songs), “Out of Body” is one track that stands out on Mable, and not just because of its length. “Out of Body” starts with another hazy arpeggiated guitar riff ala the album opener, but this time Spraynard sticks with it for the entire song length of the song. In the process, they craft an excellent, nostalgic punk “ballad.”
To celebrate the release of their third album, Spraynard will play a few dates along the East Coast. They then head across the United States for a full-fledged tour before crossing the Atlantic for nine dates in the United Kingdom.
Check out the Spraynard Facebook page for more information on tour dates.
Matt Matasci
Latest posts by Matt Matasci (see all)
- The Shelters Perfects Rock and Roll at Bardot - June 30, 2016
- Featured Artist: The Shelters - June 8, 2016
- Andrew Bird Charms Los Angeles with Fiona Apple - May 18, 2016
