ALBUM REVIEW: Disposable Youth – Bailer
Ireland’s BAILER have been creeping onto radars – at least in hardcore circles – for a little while now. With a string of solid EPs to their name, the four-piece have landed some impressive slots supporting the likes of NORMA JEAN, SICK OF IT ALL and MALEVOLENCE – to name just a few. Like many others, COVID-19 may have slowed their steady climb, but it certainly hasn’t stopped them. Coming off the back of a triumphant appearance at this year’s Bloodstock Festival, the band are eager to keep the momentum going with their debut full-length Disposable Youth. With its snarling fury, solid song-craft, and all-round youthful aggro, this record should do exactly that.
From the outset, it’s clear BAILER sit on the beefier end of the metallic hardcore spectrum. Opener Blackout kicks things off with swaggering riffs and crisp crushing drums, all this wrapped in a hulking modern production. It’s not overly polished either though, still capturing some of the squealing chaoticism of bands like CANCER BATS and CONVERGE. That’s largely where BAILER stay throughout Disposable Youth, raging through its ten tracks in a robust 36 minutes. Dynamics and subtlety aren’t really the order of the day here, the band opting instead for a constant bristling urgency.
A lot of this urgency no doubt comes from the fact that this entire record was written by the four members of BAILER in a jam room together. It’s a bold move in today’s world of virtual demos and writing on computers, but one that largely pays off. Even with Lewis Johns’ excellent production, these tracks still feel raw and rough around the edges. They’re certainly ready for a live setting, with many of them boasting a driving D-beat bounce in particular.
Central to a lot of BAILER’s fury on Disposable Youth is the performance of vocalist Alex O’Leary. With lyrics taking “a grim view of the world from a place of manic depression and nihilism,” O’Leary injects proceedings with a constant violent bile. On third track Out Of Frame for example, he appears to take aim at abusers with lyrics like “I hope it makes you uncomfortable/I’m holding you responsible/I’ll make you feel their pain/I’ll make you feel their shame”. It’s an uncompromising approach, one matched by the ferocious music every step of the way. Cruel Master which follows stands out too, this one featuring guest vocals from CONJURER’s Brady Deeprose. It’s one of the album’s most raging tracks of all, with lines like “We are the architects of our own disaster” laying bare the song’s themes of addiction.
Considering they never really take their foot off the pedal, BAILER do well to keep pulses high throughout. Thirty-six minutes is quite long for a record like this, but it never really outstays its welcome. No Apologies provides a later highlight, its D-beat savagery giving way to a defiant and dissonant final breakdown. Closing tracks There Is A Love That Remains and Fester round things out in fine fashion too, both of these descending into moments of slower and more oppressive sludge.
From Disposable Youth alone, it’s easy to see how BAILER have generated the hype that they have so far. This is an impressive debut that holds its own even in today’s crowded and thriving hardcore scene. It does everything it needs to, showing just enough of the band’s identity along the way. Hopefully this will start to poke through even more going forward, but in the meantime there’s plenty to enjoy in this half hour or so of savagery.
Rating: 8/10
Disposable Youth is set for release on November 12th via Blood Blast Distribution.
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