EP REVIEW: Heartbreak Feels Good In A Place Like This – Ray Hawthorne
If you see the name RAY HAWTHORNE and get reminded of HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS, your head’s in the right genre for this EP. Whilst Hawthorne has nothing to do with the similarly named band, his new EP Heartbreak Feels Good In A Place Like This brings just as much emo nostalgia. Dubbed as the ‘Heartbreak Hero’, Hawthorne is making his solo debut with this EP, having previously served as the vocalist in NORTH KINGSLEY with SYSTEM OF A DOWN‘s Shavo Odadjian and producer Saro Paparian. Having also collaborated with the likes of RZA, SCOTT STORCH and CYPRESS HILL, Hawthorne has released music in a variety of genres, but he’s decided to finally step into the style of music he’s always loved: the scene and emo anthems straight from high school.
This five-track EP fits that bill in a cookie cutter perfect way. Coming in at just shy of 15 minutes, but still managing to span different musical styles within the genre, Heartbreak is practically begging to be put on repeat as you layer on the black eyeliner and dig out your beat-up Converse. If you put the likes of heavy hitters JIMMY EAT WORLD, METRO STATION, GOOD CHARLOTTE, MAYDAY PARADE and TAKING BACK SUNDAY into a blender, this EP would be the result. The title track would fit right into anyone’s ’emo nostalgia’ playlist with an instantly recognisable rhythm and beat that has become synonymous with the late 00s era. Only the lyrical nods to Ryan Gosling give it away as being a more current release.
Is it really an emo album if it doesn’t have a feature from Kellin Quinn? It feels like a right of passage at this point. Hawthorne‘s deeper vocal stylings in EMERGENCY harmonise incredibly well with Quinn‘s higher pitch, showing this stark contrast yet creating a smooth ebb and flow. When having a guest vocalist of this calibre you run the risk of them taking over, but both vocalists alternate with rougher vocals. Quinn does take over during the breakdown, screaming “Take the pain away / Just wanna feel something“, but it flits straight back to Hawthorne after. It’s a great example of the give and take that a feature should sound like.
dldr:Goodbye is definitely the ‘filler’ track of the release, but is still a good addition. There are some killer riffs buried in there – it just wouldn’t stand alone very well and is extremely repetitive, but there isn’t an urge to turn it off, which is always a bonus. An unexpectedly heavier track comes in the form of 6ghostowns.org/b with quick riffs and stacked drums making the track border on the metalcore side. It’s a welcome change on the record, with the vocals flitting between singing, shouting and screaming to show off Hawthorne‘s prowess in such a sleek and non-obnoxious way.
Felt Cute, Might Die Later is one of those song titles that everyone would have captioned their photos with on MySpace, and the song itself would likely have been a lot of people’s anthems. The raw, throaty vocals screaming “Off with her head” feel straight out of Warped Tour in the best way possible, yet they’re not close enough to anything to be accused of copying. It’s a strong closer to the EP and trails off gradually, bleeding right into the beginning of the opening track again – it’s slick.
If you want to listen to music from your teen years from an artist who is still making music, and not cancelled, then Heartbreak Feels Good In A Place Like This is perfect for you.
Rating: 8/10
Heartbreak Feels Good In A Place Like This is out now via self-release.
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