EP REVIEW: Errors – Icantdie
Errors is ICANTDIE‘s darkest EP yet. For his acclaimed 2016 debut EP Transition/Merger, lead singer and guitarist Kyle Smith teamed up with Gav Burrough from FUNERAL WITH A FRIEND, who provided bass, drums and vocals. After this, he recruited Adam Kerslake on drums and Sam Bennet on bass, and after releasing their second EP Doppelganger in 2019 and a stand-alone song in 2020, the trio are back with their long-awaited third EP.
The first thing you should know about this EP is that it rips up the rulebook. Hater starts off as a slow-paced, gentle guitar-led song, and whilst some might expect it to lead into a post-hardcore breakdown, it swerves around and turns into a mellow rock song. Don’t get too comfortable through; the post-hardcore side of the band is unleashed during the last minute of the song as Smith resorts to screaming like a banshee.
Follower is more straight-forward, with screams and gang-vocals galore. At one point it goes for more of a rock sound with a guitar solo, before returning to post-hardcore territory. It could be a total headache, but in reality this EP works really well. The production means that all the different parts of the songs fit together, like on third track Teaser, for example, where the band have a post-hardcore track that is interlaced with gentle moments of slow-paced rock music.
The only issue with the EP is that it only comprises five tracks, and some of these are quite short. Whilst tracks like Reaper, with its old-school rock sound, manage to make an impact, others like Vaunter do sadly tend to get lost in the noise, especially as the differences between tracks are subtle.
This does unfortunately mean that the EP does become a bit one note, especially as a lot of post-hardcore heavy songs come one after another. On the other hand, the differences in the songs – no matter how subtle – make you think about how this genre is open to interpretation. ICANTDIE have clearly ripped up the rulebook for this EP, and it shows how exciting the future is for post-hardcore. Furthermore, this is only their third EP, so they have still plenty of time to work on their formula.
Overall, despite some flaws, Errors is an exciting EP from ICANTDIE. The band have clearly put their all into it, and it shows. At the core of this record is a band that are breaking down barriers one EP at a time, and whilst it is still somewhat early days for ICANTDIE, Errors proves that they are one of the bands that could lead post-hardcore into the next generation.
Rating: 8/10
Errors is set for release on November 17th via self-release.
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