Drive By Monologue,
The Hurt ProcessThe Hurt Process have pretty much come out of nowhere really. Snapped up by Golf Records (alongside the likes of Norma Jean...emphasising a new 'harder' angle), the six-piece play a brash form of post-hardcore that will be lapped up by those who thought Funeral For A Friend went a bit 'soft' when they released their debut album. There's screaming aplenty, trendy Derek Hess artwork and it even has a well known US producer in Cameron Webb. I'm sure you already know the score.
'This Piece' opens things up with a storming melodic verse/chorus structure, as cymbals crash around and the dual vocals taunt and twist, while 'Butterfiles' is more haunting, using pop hooks to juxtapose the distorted guitar riffs and more hardcore break-downs. Don't get me wrong, it's not exactly brutal, but the vocal melodies nicely offset the harsher guitars. 'Opinion' is good too, if not a little obvious, while 'Clarity' is the token slower song. Lyrically 'Drive By Monologue' is nothing to write home about, but the vocal melodies really do shine throughout. It's a good job really, as the longer this record goes on, the more you begin to think The Hurt Process have run out of ideas. 'Ornament' is good but could have come from the FFAF record and 'Last Goodbye' sounds familiar, but has enough to impress. The closing salvo of 'The Beast Sails In' and 'Cards' end strongly, but the lack of originality costs them dear. For a British band they don't half sound American too, and while that's not a complaint there's no way you could tell this lot apart from any of the Yank soundalikes.
The world doesn't need another shouty post-hardcore band, but The Hurt Process are one of the better ones. They don't do anything new and they're no better than the US heavyweights, but if you're a fan of the genre and looking for something to tide you over while Finch and co are still recording their new efforts, you could do a lot worse than this. Yes it's generic, but in a reasonably good way...
www.thehurtprocess.com
Golf Records
Paul
