EP REVIEW: Coalesce – Second Harbour

SECOND HARBOUR’s debut EP Coalesce is a deep dive into the end of the world, musing upon the reflections and affirmations that come with taking stock of your life. Moving between emo tinged melodies, post hardcore riffs and pop punk hooks, SECOND HARBOUR are laying out their influences, but truly find clarity in their own journey when they strike true at the EP’s emotional core. 

Opening track Relative hits at the EP’s emotional cords from the offset. Reckoning with a fractured family dynamic, screamed lines like “a living relative will be the death of me” pierce out and stick with you. Blasting guitar lines and drums add to the overall darker atmosphere, and find themselves continuing over into songs like I Am Half-Sick Of Shadows with its distorted breakdowns, but the moodiness at times loses itself in its own weight amongst the varying influences working together. 

Influences clearly span across emo, pop punk and post hardcore, with the emotional output of the tracks striking at the core of each. Mourning Dove acts as a successor to Relative with its contemplations on what could have been. The track takes on a much lighter sound in the guitar melodies and pulls from more emo stylings. In its hook filled chorus the track stands out on the EP and pulls SECOND HARBOUR’s approach into a memorable and distinct direction. 

As SECOND HARBOUR close the EP on title track Coalesce, a more melodic, hazy moment builds into catharsis. SECOND HARBOUR tailor their soundtrack to finding clarity in a fittingly conclusive way, foregrounding the painful but necessary emotional reflections that are central to Coalesce and its reflections at the end of a life. 

The EP is deeply rooted in its lyrical output, but musically can at times struggle to get off the ground. At times getting lost in its own weight, it does manage to find the clarity that the EP’s themes also search for. As a debut, it shows glimpses into some piercingly emotional lyricism and a gaze into what could come when they have more room to play around with their approach. 

Rating: 6/10

Coalesce is out now via SharpTone Records.

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