If you ask me, ‘The Silence In Black and White’ shows Hawthorne Heights to be a band with an identity crisis. There are more sides to the band on this record than a Rubix Cube, which makes for a confused listener. HH do fantastic impressions of Saves The Day, Taking Back Sunday and things altogether heavier, yet never really crack down on a sound they can nail as their own. Like most Victory Records bands they’re good at what they do, but when what they do is as mashed up as this album, it’s difficult to see how they will stand the test of time by coming out of the pack.
Hawthorne Heights formed in 2001 under the name A Day In The Life, but following numerous line-up changes decided to settle on their current moniker. In November last year the band inked a deal with Victory, and this is their first release on the label. It’s a strange CD, primarily taking the clichéd post-hardcore sound and throwing in some timely screaming, but it is interspersed with some pretty sweet melodies. Vocalist JT Woodruff has a strong voice, while the three-guitar attack adds a beefier side to the sound. But sadly that very sound isn’t defined and there’s too much borrowing of other bands.
For example, while ‘Life On Standby’ has a go at being heavy, ‘Dissolve and Decay’ is far more toned down, while ‘Niki FM’ even sounds a little like Saves The Day. Within the space of the opening three songs you could easily have thought three different bands performed them. This is Hawthorne Height’s biggest problem – they seem to be too cautious about pushing the envelope, and as a result fall back on the clichéd post-hardcore wares that are becoming increasingly dull. There’s little doubt that the production is nice and thick and the songs are good for what they are, but they’ve all been heard before, and been heard better. Even the single ‘Ohio Is For Lovers’ has very little to grab the attention of the listener, instead relying on a crunchy guitar line and a shouty backing vocal.
This isn’t badly performed and the songs are not that bad per se, but with such a lack of originality and adventure there seems little point in recommending this to anyone. There are plenty of bands that do this kind of music better, and ironically a lot of them are even on Victory. Just another clone for the post-hardcore scrapheap; Hawthorne Heights are the kind of band that give the genre a reputation for being increasingly turgid and unadventurous.
www.hawthorneheights.com
Victory Records
Paul