EP REVIEW: Alpha // Survivor – Drown This City

With the hype surrounding female fronted bands, especially groups like JINJER, there feels to be a breathe of fresh air flowing through the ‘core genres. From technical metalcore, to the postest of post-hardcore, women are making their voices heard, and are putting their hand to the creative success of more and more bands. Australia is killing it in every sense with the music they are putting out, and with the cult like following of fellow stablemates NORTHLANE proving the love for chunky guitars and a technical twinge to be very much alive and well, DROWN THIS CITY are the next group looking to make an impact within the booming scene. 

Recently having been signed to the fantastic UNFD, and still being a very young band, DROWN THIS CITY are dead set on making the biggest impact possible amongst the label, and the wider scene. Alpha // Survivor serves as a look into the dichotomy of being both deeply powerful and also a scared, lone individual, and at the very core of the EP this is something realised well. Stay Broken does well to transition from the grooving, heavy guitars to Alex Reade’s great vocal performance, really highlighting how delicate Reade can be before also revealing her to be more than capable of growling with the best of them. 

In Your Image really cements Reade as a truly fine vocalist, and playing off bassist Matthew Bean really helps give DROWN THIS CITY their diverse sound. When the band want to, they can go full melodic, as they deliver soaring choruses that spiral back into the more familiar heavy territory. DROWN THIS CITY walk the line between the heavy and light sounds with confidence, and with the technical djent sound often one that is kept far away from these sorts of melodic choruses and song structures, it makes Alpha // Survivor a step in a musical direction that should become a mainstay. 

As well conceived as the DROWN THIS CITY sound has become, there remains a heavy reliance on the same tropes throughout.. As such, there does run a risk of the songs moulding into one after initial listens. As stand out tracks like Love Makes Cowards Out of Us All still remain as bastions of genuinely brilliant songwriting, the likes of In Your Image feels top heavy, focusing far more on the heavy elements and letting the melodies fill the gaps as opposed to fully letting the elements grow together. A better balance of elements, rather than simply needing to ensure every song has a chorus and a heavy section, would’ve made the EP feel more rounded and tighter as a result. 

With all of this said, for an EP, Alpha // Survivor immediately lands itself in the upper echelons of releases this year. This is a well rounded collection of songs that offer a true glimpse into what this exciting new group are capable of. With a clear grasp of the musical elements they are wielding, DROWN THIS CITY offer a deeply melodic and heavy as balls post hardcore sound that is a real pallet cleanser for any fan of the core genres. If you are a fan of JINJER, it goes without saying that this Alpha // Survivor and DROWN THIS CITY are so far up your street they may as well already be in your living room. With a full length album will come more room for the band to stretch their musical wings, but even the light sense of repetition aside, this is a great appetiser for what’s to come. 

Rating: 7/10

Alpha // Survivor is set for release July 5th via UNFD.

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