ALBUM REVIEW: motionblur – Split Chain

Not many bands get the opportunities SPLIT CHAIN have before releasing a full-length album, touring with heavy hitters such as KNOCKED LOOSE, A DAY TO REMEMBER, BETTER LOVERS and SILVERSTEIN as well as taking prominent slots at 2000trees, Slam Dunk and Burn It Down festivals. Building an audience through word of mouth and a spectacular live show, the Bristol quintet translate their blazing on stage energy into an eclectic debut album full of the same energy that’s made them scene darlings.

Mashing together influences as diverse as SUPERHEAVEN, TOUCHÉ AMORÉ, KORN, and HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS, SPLIT CHAIN carefully craft their unique sound, laying down layers of shoegaze textures with bursts of chaotic nu-metal energy and a hearty dose of classic emo melancholy.

Opening track Under The Wire acts as a fantastic introduction to SPLIT CHAIN with chugging late 90s style nu-metal riffs clashing with frontman Bert Martinez-Cowles’ vocals which ramp up from a gloomy whisper to a Chester Bennington style forceful scream all with the sheen of lush modern production. While SPLIT CHAIN clearly idolise a lot of big names in the nu-metal and shoegaze genres, don’t mistake motionblur for blind hero worship, there’s plenty of nuance in the mix of retro and cutting edge sounds here.

While clocking in at 11 tracks and around 35 minutes, motionblur manages to pack plenty of distinct sounds into its runtime without coming across as overly repetitive or derivative. Tracks such as bored. tired. torn and Rookie manage to lean into the band’s shoegaze roots but from totally different approaches with the former keeping the vocals low in the mix and letting the layers of distorted, guitar driven noise take the lead whereas the latter puts Martinez-Cowles in the spotlight, pushing his vocals to the forefront over a bedrock of driving percussion and intricately stacked guitars. These differing approaches help each track stand on their own rather than blending together, SPLIT CHAIN take the same handful of influences and tackle them from all sides to keep motionblur sounding fresh yet cohesive.

Although much of motionblur relies heavily on chaotic energy and ferocious distorted guitars, the album does contain a sprinkling of more anthemic tracks that prove SPLIT CHAIN’s potential as a future festival headliner. While audiences may struggle to keep up with tracks such as Rookie or The Space In Between, who am i? leads the band in an emo inspired direction with a memorable chorus ready for screaming crowds and big stages and Headway brings an earworm grunge guitar riff into the mix for an alternative rock banger which even the most miserable hardcore fan at Download Festival won’t be able to resist banging their head to. While there are plenty of acts out there drawing from the same shoegaze and nu-metal influences, SPLIT CHAIN set themselves apart with a keen ear for catchy songwriting that cuts through the noise.

With one of the year’s most anticipated debuts, SPLIT CHAIN could’ve easily fallen apart under the weight of their own expectations, instead the Bristol five-piece take cues from their heroes to create an album full of familiar yet exciting sounds. Blending retro shoegaze and nu-metal sounds with clear, modern production, SPLIT CHAIN are a band with an extremely bright future.

Rating: 8/10

motionblur is out now via Epitaph Records.

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