EVERYTHING WE LEFT BEHIND

'Our Ears Are Bleeding' is the debut album of Bristol-based punk rockers Everything We Left Behind. Apparently, according to the press sheet, they pertained to "real sincerity" when recording the album with minimal takes which, along with being "raw and honest" we're informed this is "just as punk should be". Well, I cannot refute that, but the truth is in the listening experience and songwriting - the latter surely a more vital ingredient to base a judgement on how punk should or shouldn't be. Well, for starters, we're not talking straight punk here as Everything We Left Behind's punk elements are blended with rock as alluded to by their self-proclaimed label of punk rock, and what some might even construe as post-hardcore with pop punk elements. The album can be aligned with the punk genre through Josh Rees' dissonant vocal delivery more than the actual music. Sure, the music has elements of punk but more in a commercial sense rather than anything too raw and sonically rebellious. Probably the album's greatest strength is that it rattles along at such a fast pace with succinct compositions around the 3 minute mark that there's little time to get bored. However, I often feel that high velocity punk rock of this nature is better digested in the live environment, a context within Everything We Left Behind will undoubtedly flourish. That said, there are hints of a live feel throughout the album, so they have succeeded, in part, in capturing such live energy on record. Ultimately, though, for me, the punk and rock elements are not always blended so well, as if Everything We Left Behind haven't quite settled into their style or, rather, found a unifying vibe within which to execute their songs. This stops the album from being a great one, albeit it's still good and worth checking out.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Self-released

Album

OUR EARS ARE BLEEDING

Review by Mark Holmes

RUNNING TIME:

34:03

RELEASE DATE:

3rd Oct 2011

TRACK LISTING

1) Generica
2) Guillotine
3) A Place Called Nowhere
4) No Friend of Mine
5) Don't Be Hasty
6) Pull Back and Go
7) The Not Winner
8) Great White Buffalo
9) Repeating
10) Big Thanks To The Sun
11) It's Not Plagiarism, It's Just Similar

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

UK

"Probably the album's greatest strength is that it rattles along at such a fast pace with succinct compositions around the 3 minute mark that there's little time to get bored."