ALBUM REVIEW: Transmute – Press To MECO

History has a habit of repeating itself, and bands have a knack for blowing up over albums. They either blackout in a blur of bad releases, break up, or change members and move on for the better. Whether it’s mimicking the glam-rock golden age of self-destruction a la GUNS N’ ROSES and MOTLEY CRUE or the revolving door revolutions GREEN DAY and PANIC! AT THE DISCO have benefitted from, bands blow up and leave legacies. For Crawley and Croydon’s resident alt-rockers PRESS TO MECO, the departure of bassist Adam Roffey threatened to derail their ascent to the top of the mountain.

Deflated by their own self-deprecation and disillusioned by the industry engulfing them, drummer Lewis Williams and guitarist Luke Caley began fanning a fading flame for one last ditch attempt. Recruiting ACODA bassist Jake Crawford, the trio hid away in a hunting lodge to carve out Transmute. Arguably, it’s the best decision they’ve ever made.

Opening with the industrial clinks and clanks of the titular instrumental, PRESS TO MECO show off their musical muscle. Exploding into the air-raid siren urgency of Another Day, it’s safe to say they’re channelling the darkness they’ve been dwelling in since 2018’s Here’s To The Fatigue.

Crawford’s arrival and their anger at the world goes hand-in-hand, pushing the boundaries of PRESS TO MECO’s alt-rock attack to new heights. Gold moves them into metalcore country, Crawford’s screams wrestling with the tranquillity of clean dual harmonies that nestles somewhere between BEARTOOTH and BURY TOMORROW.

Elsewhere, A Test Of Our Resolve doubles down on big-room choruses, funk-fuelled basslines, and three-way vocals that a band on a brink of a breakup just wouldn’t be able to throw out so easily. Overdue bridges gently strummed campfire ballads with TWIN ATLANTIC-twinged emo-pop.

Separately as singles, Transmute might not make much sense. Collectively as an album, it’s a smorgasbord of songwriting mastery. It showcases the beauty of a band bringing it back to basics. It’s the sound of a band rediscovering what it means to call themselves to PRESS TO MECO and that’s powerfully revitalising.

Transmute thematically mirrors the motions PRESS TO MECO have been experiencing. Grappling with the idea of change, both in themselves and in society, they approach sensitive subjects with lofty ambitions.

Whilst our reliance on technology is their key target, it’s the more personal matters they attend to that make the real magic here. On standout single A Test Of Our Resolve, the chorus caringly cries out “There’s a mountain to climb but we’re starting to look old, just scrambling out of the mud was a test of our resolve.” It’s at once heartbreaking and heartwarming to hear the exhaustion seep through the vocals as they realise the mission ahead of them as they reflect on the journey they’ve had so far.

PRESS TO MECO wanted to prove to themselves they could write a record they could be proud of. In that case, Transmute should be seen as a victory lap for a band who’ve bounced back from the brink with an album of expansive alt-rock bangers to bring the house down.

Rating: 9/10

Transmute is set for release on August 20th via Marshall Records.

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