ALBUM REVIEW: Thoughts & Prayers – CNTS
Life is a funny thing. One day you’re a roaring machine, marshalling the hardcore forces into punching each other in the head. The next, a car accident and a hospital bed, damaged vocal cords, unable to even speak and predicted to never speak again. Less “ha-ha” funny than tragically ironic, granted, but vocalist Matt Cronk has more right to see the humour than anyone after living through that first-hand. For a while, it looked as though their self-titled debut might be all we see of hardcore supergroup CNTS, but fate apparently had other plans in the shape of a full recovery and, subsequently, Thoughts & Prayers.
While CNTS wove together melodic charms with the visceral picking of shards of teeth out of your knuckles, Thoughts & Prayers channels a more direct power. It’s a little disappointing those melodic elements have dropped out, but it’s hard to argue with the bull that tramples you. It barrels in a pure hardcore direction in its opening salvo and beyond, epitomised by the raucous Dear Sir; hardcore to its absolute depths, a grip-it-and-rip-it blast at the crane controls swinging the wrecking ball.
Amongst the thrashing carnage, there’s a deliberate effort to be plain and understood– no doubt inspired not only by Cronk’s period of impaired communication, but by a general and shared feeling that the idiots are taking over. Opener I Won’t Work For You is a ball of white-hot fury that tries precisely zero percent to disguise precision attacks on the ones looking down on the rest of us, while the title track opens up on the sort of near-apathetic attempts to morally contribute to the discussion of tragedy to slick, pounding drum work throughout. It’s clearly incredibly personal stuff for Cronk, who tears into each track with the sort of power you’d expect from someone who exclaims, in his own words on Smart Mouth, “they couldn’t shut me up when they ripped out my throat”.
Beyond the first handful of tracks being the hardcore meat of the meal, there’s plenty of room for some playful side-dishes. No track past the fifth slot feels the same, even in genre sometimes, but despite changeups in pace and style they flow into each other superbly. Take the SUICIDAL TENDENCIES-laced Junkie, a near-schizophrenic back and forth with itself bumping up against Drown, a low and slow closer crammed to bursting with meaty drone riffs and enough stoner rock influence to grant contact highs. CNTS showed flashes of this juxtaposition previously, crashing together black comedy with the hardcore bulk, but here it’s a fully fleshed out mechanic they use here to great success through the back end of proceedings.
It’s impressive enough that Thoughts & Prayers even exists; the fact that it’s this good is a juicy steak for your black eye. A snarling sophomore effort that reinforces foundations with one hand and tears down walls with the other, it delivers a primal, cathartic scream into a void that’s darkening by the day. Managing this while also tightening up what was already an accomplished set of performances on the back of a tragedy that should have by rights ended the band? All the more remarkable. The level of polish on the raw edge might put some enthusiasts off of smashing into each other, but there’s real heart, real rage and more than a helping of gratitude all the way through what is likely to be one of the best hardcore releases this year. Genuinely great stuff.
Rating: 8/10
Thoughts & Prayers is out March 29th via Ipecac Recordings.
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