2007-06-07
The Radiohead of Hardcore - That's the first thing that came to mind once finishing the first listening session to this album. Why? Because saying today's Poison The Well play "hardcore" is as saying today's Radiohead play "rock". This is diverse, and the list of non-generic instruments used on recordings (including a trumpet and a trombone, a mandolin, a banjo, a Wurlitzer electric piano, synthesizers and something called a muu guitar – most played by Ryan Primack) is evidence enough to the amount of creativity put in here. Taking into consideration how constructed and well-put the album is, it's no wonder it took PTW four years between it and their previous, acclaimed, effort "You Come Before You".
Poison The Well's fourth full-length highlights the year 2007, the first album with only three core members – vocalist Jeffery Moreira, guitarist Ryan Primack and drummer Chris A. Hornbrook – as official members of the band. Does a lack in band members lead to a lacking album? In "Versions"' case it is quite the opposite. PTW write better music as a trio, and simply complete the line-up with session members to play their creations. Opener, and first single out of the album, "Letter Thing" demonstrated this well by having at least three layers of distorted guitars at a given time, a schizophrenic strumming banjo, backing noises and synths, a crude bass grooving endlessly, devastating drum rolls and Moriera's heartburning voice as the chocolate topping for this Sunday – such a full body of math-core abundance, quirky alternative-rock color, sewage-dirty post-hardcore groove tastes in an overall expression of great energy – A pupil-expanding experience, and that's just the first number.
I must've heard this album a thousand times before writing my view of it, for the better the album the harder it is to find words to describe it and the less I'd like to go with used-up bold statements, such as "best I've heard this year" or "buy this, and buy a second copy just in case", about it. The less you talk about "Versions" and the more you listen to it – the better. And it's quite an easy task too, for besides containing some rabid hardcore screams, rigid distortioned guitars and some temple-hammering drums ("Letter Thing", "The Notches That Create Your Headboard", "Prematurito El Baby") it also contains a great deal of ingeniously composed melody, meaty bass lines, expressive singing ("Nagaina", "Pleading Post", "You Will Not Be Welcomed") from vocalist Jeffrey Moreira strengthened by multi-instrumentalist, but mostly guitarist, Ryan Primack, and that's without saying a word about the sweeping leads & enriching synths, strings and brass instruments. Regardless of my reservation, I must say that each song here works just as well in the context of the album as out of it. And that's all I'm gonna say regarding each song, for this album is one of the few which are good enough even without the kind words said about 'em, it's consensus.
"Versions" may seems like a fitting title for a b-side collection, an all-hit collection or an album full of alternate versions to PTW songs, but this isn't the case whatsoever. This is this Floridian band's best release to date, peaking well over both their sophomore album "Tear From The Red" and their acclaimed major-label album "You Come Before You". With "Versions", PTW take their craft to a much higher level of perfection, functioning on different levels of sound, emotion, lyrical content, melody and experimentalism so well it becomes obvious they're here to shout, and not just for the sake of shouting, it’s the best way to be heard.
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