Rise Records’ quest to become the label with the biggest roster of generic “scene” bands is gathering impressive momentum (save for the odd gems they still give a home to, eg. Make Do And Mend, Hot Water Music, Man Overboard and such). It seems barely believable that the master platform for tired formulas appears not to suffer from the backlash of critical consensus. However, there is always the off chance that newly signed bands come closer to the caliber of the bands stated above rather than the other section of their affiliated outfits. Today’s subject: American Me’s new album ’III.’
Their clearest objective, one that was openly stated at the time of their first album, is to achieve Everest levels of heaviness and anger bound in relentless hardcore tracks. Within this register, their debut ‘Heat’ was the example of a successful endeavour with every instrument a weapon of destruction, every riff written with ear-murdering intent and every vocal part ripping through the seams. It’s not always relevant to compare a band’s best album with the rest of their discography, but it is if the band don’t display any evolution in sound over the course of three albums.
Consequently, ‘III’ comes off as a disappointing offering. All the elements of their two previous efforts are certainly present but the result isn’t as satisfactory as it could’ve been. The sheer brutality and intensity of their sound is there, but it sounds compacted and considerably tamer than on previous efforts. More noticeably so than the rest, the drums are drowned out by the production, lacking the powerhouse edge required to back up the overall heaviness. As a result, the tracks, even the various rhythm changes in-song, fade into one another without a stand-out moment ever emerging.
At best, tracks such as ‘Broken Moral Compass’ and ‘Veni Vidi Vici’ accumulate a sufficient amount of anger and riffage to elevate themselves ever so slightly from the rest, but the risk of growing tiresome is a serious one. With the knowledge of what American Me CAN do, even within the confines of a genre subject to highly generic conventions, when they are at the best, ‘III’ was only ever going to come in second place. Not unlistenable or incompetent, just not exciting or different enough to warrant repeated listens. Must do better.
2/5
‘III’ by American Me is out now on Rise Records.
American Me links: Facebook|Twitter
Words by James Bearclaw Lewis (@swissbearclaw)
