For one reason or another, this 15 track offering from Southampton based Intent found itself at the bottom of my review pile for a little to long. And when a CD such as this finds itself there, it is always incredibly frustrating as ‘Double Positive’ proves itself to be an absolute peach of a hardcore release. Thrashing along at a monumental rate of knots, the constant stream of anthemic chorus’s and breakneck drumming doesn’t let up for the 23 minute duration and proves to be an exhilarating if altogether slightly shallow experience.
Sounding like a hybrid of Pennywise and Sick of it All, the four piece don’t give anytime for the listener to capture breaths, and to their credit, this is what keeps the album plodding along at a continually interesting and captivating rate. From the opening beats of ‘Patriotic’ to the daft chanting in the final banter of ‘Goodbye Horse’ it is an enlightening and frantic journey through South Coast hardcore. It isn’t all the peaches and pie though; a minor fault is that at times everything sounds a little too similar. While tracks such as the rapid ‘Socialisation’ and the insanely frantic ‘Go’ are undoubtedly there for pure aggression and adrenaline, it is left to the more thoughtful and structured efforts such as ‘Integrity’ and ‘Buck’ to fly the real flag for the band and show they aren’t just simple noise merchants. It is difficult though to really niggle at the band to much as the majority of the fifteen tracks prove enjoyable and memorable long after the show has finished. The three live tracks on show also prove a worthy sidenote, although the release would maybe function just as good if not better without the added baggage.
For any fans of high-speed melodic hardcore/punk, you will lap this up a treat. It is as ferocious and crunching a release as they come, and being as it comes from a relatively unknown UK band there are even less excuses not to track the band down and enjoy the madness. They may not stray too much from what they do best, but why bother when the final results are that good? Goodbye horse? Goodbye eardrum.
Jay
www.intentband.com
Suspect Device Records
