ALBUM REVIEW: Through Love & Death You’re All I Have Left – Dude Trips
Though it spends most of its time being the meme laughing stock of the alternative internet, there are few genres capable of captivating an obsessive following quite like emo. Its time in the spotlight may have dissipated since the turn of the decade but make no mistake – our musical culture would look wholeheartedly different without the explosion of bands like MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, PANIC! AT THE DISCO, and FALL OUT BOY in the mid 2000’s. Looking to take emo and force it into the future are DUDE TRIPS, a quartet of Scots with hearts on their sleeves, and stardom in their sights.
Being a newcomer in such a genre at the present moment comes with similar challenges to nu metal beginners – emo is a genre that people automatically associate with the past. Even with all that said though, this Northern four piece have an album here that deserves every bit of your attention, and might well be the start of something quite incredible for this band.
Through Love & Death You’re All I Have Left takes advantage of the space created for it by the likes of HOLDING ABSENCE, ALAZKA and CASEY. This is a record that centres its mindset around heartbreak, mental contention, and death, all while managing to sound less like a sad boys teenage diary, and more like a Shakespearian tale of emotional warfare.
It’s a record that splits its tales into two musical forms. Cursory tracks like Sunday Club, Subbuteo, and Blank Canvas withhold a pop punk-esque pace to their choruses, and DUDE TRIPS play off the rhythmic uplift with charm. Lead guitarist Scott Burnett‘s melodic guitar lines have a spring in their step that act as the sturdy balance beam for what surrounds them to walk on. Though emo and pop punk have been fused before, the Scots find a level of vibrancy here that you won’t have heard in this genre for quite a while.
But its arguable that the true genius of Through Love & Death You’re All I Have Left lies in its melancholic, at times poetic depiction of tumultuous life events. Both Tampa Bay and Kit sound like little more than stripped back lessons in heartache, and their slow tone matches the tracks themes of breakups and suicide perfectly. Don’t be fooled by their simplicity though, what you find here is songwriting of the highest calibre riddled with emotional transparency. This is certainly not the first, or the last time you’ll come across tracks this raw, but the mesmeric vocal tone of Shaun Ross throughout both might just make them two of the most memorable of their type.
The time couldn’t be more perfect for a band like DUDE TRIPS to appear, and they’re a crystal clear example that when done right, no genre has an expiry date. Their ability on Through Love & Death You’re All I Have Left to merge together two styles is impressive in itself, but when propped up by its encapsulating lyrical pretence and tone – the quartet have produced something way above their pay grade here. If you’ve been waiting for a band that can revive emo, DUDE TRIPS are the band you should be placing your bets on.
Rating: 8/10
Through Love & Death You’re All I Have Left is set for release May 31st via Side Mission Records.
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