ALBUM REVIEW: In The Dark Before The Dawn – On Borrowed Time

ON BORROWED TIME have solidified themselves as one of the best up and coming melodic hardcore bands in the UK at the moment with their debut album In The Dark Before The Dawn. The Dorset based band have created an album that feels rooted in reflection, atmosphere and tension, flying between genres of skate punk and hardcore to create something that has well and truly rooted them in the scene. 

Opening with the slow building instrumental Twilight, you are then hit with a rousing crescendo before diving straight into Burden that is quite the juxtaposition of the title track. With two stepping moments and gang vocals, this feels like classic hardcore mixed with something altogether unique. 

ON BORROWED TIME have created a sound that sits comfortably in the space between darkness and light, exploring themes of time, change, memory, and the moments that shape us. There is a sense of honesty running throughout the record as vocalist James Leatherbarrow screams “we all bleed the same” in track Same Blood as it floats between punk and something more sombre.

Faded seems to be a raw and energetic song that perfectly balances the album. It’s honest and emotionally varied from the other tracks on the album. Each song seems to be a window into the band, showcasing fragility and optimism to create a soundtrack that is unlike anything else in the music sphere at the moment. 

Rather than chasing instant impact, the album seems to gradually reveal itself to listeners and each song feels like it blossoms and blooms. The songs carry a feeling of looking back while still trying to move forward — capturing that strange place before a new chapter begins and the second instrumental of the album Reset feels like a natural pause to collect yourself and prepare yourself for what’s to come in the latter half of the record.

Throwing themselves into the second half of the album with Waiting For You (In The Dark Before The Dawn) you are hit with an almost unhinged song packed full of so many emotions that you almost don’t know how to feel when you listen to it. On one hand its punchy hardcore moments feel perfectly chaotic but when the pace drops, you are hit with an almost cathartic emotional section that leaves you gasping for breath between lingering chords. A true masterpiece of a song that will define them as a band for years to come. 

Following with both Last Step and After All, you wonder whether there is anything left on this rollercoaster of melodic emotions before hitting you with their hardcore roots to round things off. The vocals of After All feels made for an audience to scream it back at the band in the most perfect of closures. Closing the album with Love Song featuring MARK BETTERIDGE, it feels furious and layered in melody and vocals to create an emotional crescendo before abruptly and forcefully ending. 

To say this is anything less than a wild ride is an understatement. In The Dark Before The Dawn succeeds because it embraces the differences, it leans into the contrasts: darkness and optimism, fragility and strength, looking back and moving forward. It is a thought provoking, soon to be loved listen that grows with time, leaving the audience with the feeling that something meaningful has been shared. For a debut album, this is nothing short of perfection. 

Rating: 9/10

In The Dark Before The Dawn is out now via Omen Records. 

Like ON BORROWED TIME on Facebook.