![]() In fact, these sections where he sings are those that detail his personal defeat and inner-hurt even more. Monotone and flat like his friends in Ceremony. ![]() The rollercoaster of emotions being processed finds Bolm even taking a shot at singing. Touché Amoré were touted by Thursday's Geoff Rickly as the band to transcend The Wave and become the torchbearers for post-hardcore/screamo and seeing them both at Riot Fest was quite poetic because it reaffirmed this statement Rickly made. The fracture that this musical novel plays up has Brad Wood's emo stamp of approval unfurling in full bloom which is also a big plus for people like me who grew up on his Sunny Day Real Estate masterpiece in Diary. This song's based on cutting riffs and a lush atmospheric sense of space, letting his words breathe with even more life. "I don’t open up to people too much in regular life, but when I’m writing songs, I want to be as open and as honest as possible," he once said and this particular song is one of the album's strongest as he sings about rallying to stay afloat hoping that the departed is indeed adrift and at peace. And not a single drop fell for the rest of the festival. Suddenly, the drizzle stopped and sunlight enveloped Douglas Park. A stream of sunlight parted the clouds and lit his face up. He was trying to touch a flock of birds that were making a 180 just like in the "Gravity, Metaphorically" video years ago and he mouthed his mother' name - without anyone noticing. I noticed him reaching out into the sky while everyone moshed and he smiled. It's hard-edged post-hardcore but one thing I want to mention - when I caught them at Riot Fest Chicago, there was this moment during this song where Bolm was singing this track amid a drizzle. "Rapture" holds an even more special place in my heart. I love how the record is littered with solos throughout to make their sound grow in ambition and versatility. The upbeat tempos stand in stark contrast to the dark, confessional lyrics - hammering home themes of faith, grief, guilt, regret and despair for the time Bolm failed to spend with his mother at the end. A friend said that a lot of what Stage Four offers feels like new-era Pianos Become The Teeth (musically sprawling and gazey) meets the gruff of Polar Bear Club. It feels like they pick up right where 2013 left off. Brutally vulnerable and exposed as they start off bringing Is Survived By full circle. But with a sense of deeper contemplation. "Flowers and You" and "New Halloween" (which even has a tinge of pop-punk in its intro), despite their melodies, are loud and in-your-face. The first two tracks are songs I don't think anyone would have anticipated if you listened to their earlier catalog. ![]() And in so doing, they've crafted something that's more harmonious in its send-off. More intrinsic to the spirit that drives us internally. It ends up being a beautiful, poetic eulogy for a band that's scrubbed their abrasive post-hardcore nature for something, as cliched as it is, more heartfelt. As Bolm copes in the aftermath, the album finds itself draped in less aggressive territory and one that's more melodic and shimmery, which in all fairness was the direction they seemed to be steering the ship in three years ago. The title also refers to the stage of cancer she was in on passing. Stage Four is about Bolm dealing with death directly - his mother, Sandra - in an aptly-titled collection of songs on ironically, their fourth album. This year, however, revealed that it may well have been one of foreshadowing. Up until this year, I thought he spoke from a generic place, a conceptual one. It found Touché Amoré vocalist, Jeremy Bolm, questioning mortality, which resonated deeply with me at that point. Is Survived By was the album that saved my life. In 2013, I suffered a severe bout of depression.
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