Havelocke and The Forthcoming Debut ‘Sleep When The World Ends’.
Havelocke – Sheffield, England, United Kingdom.
Without saying too much or even focusing on it at all really, Havelocke are in some way affiliated to the now defunct Fierce Morgan.
Well that’s that. Moving on now with present matters, Havelocke are a band from Sheffield stuck somewhere between Skate Punk, early 2000’s Post-Hardcore, its diluted Emo cousin and contemporary UK Pop-Punk.
With the spec for said sonic cocktail in mind, the band will be releasing their debut EP Sleep When The World Ends on the 17th July. The band’s sound although contemporary, carries many callbacks to much in the way of the forerunning stylistics that many of todays stalwarts grew from. This EP attempts to breathe new life into a comfortable scene before the comfortability becomes complacency, so prior to release, lets examine the method.
‘The Nightmare’ descends the half on the back of classic trucks before embracing a sound akin to a slightly more emotive Gnarwolves after they had been sharing a bed with Finch. The strong soaring melodic guitar lines and the contrasting grit of the rhythm section in the verses compliment each other with the slight Post-Hardcore twang alongside the onset strain of the screamed vocals adding the final piece.
‘Oops, There Goes My Brains’ continues this melancholic sound but this time sitting closer to the Post-Hardcore hinted direction of the previous. Lyrically speaking, the band elude a bitter socio-politcal criticism that alongside the more dated, technically proficient and aggressive sound, makes for one of best on the EP in ever growing distaste.
If the previous showed the band move toward a time where Post-Hardcore began to borrow from its Hardcore Punk roots then ‘Modern Psalms’ completes the process. The track then proceeds to leave a trail for the fast and classic Rise Against and Good Riddance leaning Melodic Hardcore to follow but with the added emotional stamp of Havelocke.
This melodic Punk and Hardcore sound sees further fruition in ‘Home Time’ and again you can’t help hear the groundwork laid by bands such as Rise Against or other seminal acts such as Much The Same. Havelocke certainly have their own sound, unequivocally so in-fact and it continuously evolves on a track by track basis but it’s hard to ignore both their direct and indirect homework.
I wish I had more to show you but sadly I am sworn to protect this private link with my very being so here’s an obligatory and vague promotional image.
How very promotional…
After the emotionally intense ‘Home Time’ the EP enigma that is ‘Dauterive’ takes centre stage. The moment Havelocke entered my line of sight, I was expecting a more traditional Pop-Punk track at some stage and this penultimate number serves as such. ‘Dauterive’ sits comfortably in contemporary of world of the UK Pop-Punk with the harsh vocals standing it in good stead. However, as much the sentiment is strong the wording of the message could be more inventive but this isn’t the main issue I have with the track as a whole.
‘Dauterive’ has its redeeming qualities and is sonically sound but it is in its placement on this album that it falls. Because of its Pop-Punk focus, this second-to-last foray would have ideally sat better earlier on.
By this stage, Havelocke have explored their sound and allowed us to follow freely. The band have very much saved their final catharsis for their closing anthem. ‘Mordake’ takes in almost all we have been exposed to thus far in a manner that manages to stave-off the negatives of this often cliche move. ‘Mordake’ is emotionally driven and presents the sound of this new band wholly.
July 17th is the day and the pre-order is now live.
#StayFresh
