ALBUM REVIEW: Transitional Forms – Sharptooth
With 2017’s debut album Clever Girl, SHARPTOOTH showed plenty of promise. That album was bursting with passion and aggression. The album had its shortcomings but it felt like if SHARPTOOTH could refine their sound a bit and find their own identity more then they could become one of the most exciting new hardcore bands around. Now three years later they are back with their second album Transitional Forms, a very fitting title for what SHARPTOOTH have done here.
The album gets off to an explosive start Say Nothing (In the Absence of Content). It’s clear right away that this is a much more confident band than on the debut album. Vocalist Lauren Kashan‘s personality can be felt all over this track. There’s a real energy and sense of fun to the track thanks to some dry humour and sarcasm on Lauren‘s part. Mean Brain continues this by taking a child’s nursery rhyme and turning it into a mosh call. Something that will no doubt wind up purists within hardcore and metalcore but that almost feels like SHARPTOOTH‘s aim.
It’s on Life on the Razors Edge where the album really gets going. Far darker and expansive than anything on the debut, this track starts very minimally before building to an explosive crescendo. It’s these darker moments scattered throughout the album that show the most growth since the debut. The Gray is the best example of this and if this is a route the band continue down in the future then they could be onto something special.
That’s not to say the band have completely abandoned what they were doing on Clever Girl. Hirudinea feels very similar bringing back some of the punk energy for a raging feminist track. The “you’re not a feminist just because you fucked one” mosh call is also guaranteed to become a favourite among fans. There’s definitely a lack of subtlety to the lyrics on certain tracks but then when SHARPTOOTH have such a clear feminist message they want to get across (and one that doesn’t just include cis white women) then subtlety would just get in the way of that.
A lot of metalcore albums can feel a bit one note which is not a problem Transitional Forms suffers from. SHARPTOOTH pull from so many different corners of the genre to keep things fresh throughout. Take 153 for example, a song that sees them go full on EVERY TIME I DIE with such chaotic energy. It’s these little detours that keep the album feeling fresh. And the album doesn’t outstay its welcome either so it never loses it’s impact. In terms of performances every member of SHARPTOOTH has upped their game. As mentioned earlier, Lauren Kashan now feels like a much more confident vocalist. Musically this is more diverse than the debut too thanks to the stylistic shifts the band go through over the album. But even on the more straightforward tracks there’s very little in the way of dull chugging guitars we’ve heard time and time again. Guitarists Keith Higgins and Lance Donati pack every song with so many riffs.
As the album comes to a close with Nevetheless (She Persisted), SHARPTOOTH leave you wanting more. This is their most mature track and is a fantastic way to close the album. In a scene filled with toxic masculinity, SHARPTOOTH feel like an important band right now. Their extremely direct approach to politics and feminism might not be for everyone but now more than ever these are the sort of voices in this music scene that need to be heard. And whether you like it or not there’s a good chance you’re gonna be hearing a lot more of SHARPTOOTH over the next few years.
Rating: 8/10
Transitional Forms is set for release on July 10th via Pure Noise Records.
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