Comeback Kid
Symptons And Cures
Victory Records
We’re looking at album of the year material here. Yes, Winnipeg’s very own hardcore pacesetters Comeback Kid are once more braced to batter our stereos with their fourth album ‘Symptoms + Cures’, a work which, while rarely deviating from the blistering yet catchy stamp of its predecessor ‘Broadcasting…’, takes just enough risks to get us singing their praises all over again. While a little while ago This Is Hell floored us with their thrash-flavoured new record, and Deathwish’s Bitter End wowed us with a venomously compelling take on NYHC, CBK have essentially stuck to their guns, solidifying their new sound (Andrew Neufeld shifted from guitar to vocals prior to 2007′s ‘Broadcasting’) with a touch more melody, a greater deal of diversity, and unbelievably, an even more intense delivery.
As on previous records CBK sidestep those all too common hardcore bugbears, the vacuous macho posturing and the lack of any real memorability, to produce actual songs that are emotionally satisfying as well as visceral, and immediate. The pummelling ‘Get Alone’ is a standout anthem on a record that’s packed with great, air pounding moments , from ‘G.M. Vincent & I’s ragged melody to the breathless ‘Crooked Floors’, and uplifting ‘Balance’, which features a brief appearance from Cancer Bats vocalist Liam Cormier. The final double-whammy of ‘Magnet Pull’ and ‘Pull Back The Reins’ rounds off the record brilliantly, the former one of the band’s most openly melodic and infectious tracks to date, while the latter closes proceedings in typically searing and expansive style.
Ultimately, three things keep Comeback Kid on top of the modern hardcore hill. Not only are they musically proficient (and, in the all too often sonically conservative world of hardcore, innovative), they are able to seamlessly blend the intense and the reflective without a hint of conceit… As for the third, their incredible live show: we’ll let you remind yourselves of that this November. We cannot wait.
Buy this album from AMAZON
Review by Rob Sayce
