Pianos Become the Teeth - The Lack Long After

I am a fan of post hardcore. I have been a fan of post hardcore ever since I first heard "Crimes". I'm actually listening to "Yes! Yes! Yes!" by Foxy Shazam while I write this review.

Aside from this, though, I have never been terribly impressed by Pianos Become the Teeth's releases. I felt sort of let down after hearing how good Old Pride was and being just plainly let down when I first listened to it. And that's a normal feeling - I was also let down all this year by my first listening of both of La Disputes albums. The only reason I've ever found for me to dislike a post hardcore album, really, is that nothing is different, or changing. They remain at a constant pace, no change, and the exact thing I'm hearing is always some same chord progression, or gimmick that I heard on the very last album I put on.

This is why I initially thought I would be pretty disappointed with Pianos newest album, "The Lack Long After". I wasn't hearing a lot of difference in the songs - neither lyrics or performance were really strikingly well played, which is normal for bands of this genre, and they seemed to be playing at constant, angry, numbing pieces.

The difference, however, is in the little things. In each track I can hear layer of playing - especially prevalent on songs such as "I'll Be Damned" and "Spine". Pianos Become the Teeth have learned to do a lot with a little. They make you appreciate every note, every change. The best part is that it's a consistent release, with every song playing at the same level, making you revel in the whole thirty-eight minutes that you listen, and when you've finished, take a big breath of air and nod to yourself - and possibly to them - in acceptance. Or maybe even say, "Wow."

I can't really call any track weaker than another, but a big problem this album has actually comes from it's consistency: deciding on only eight tracks. I'm sure this meant the album was more of a serious endeavor, and that there was less room to disappoint, but it also means the songs are all very long strung, which is okay, except for when I'm looking for something to listen to and enjoy on the go, like I can Touche Amore's "Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me", another release from just earlier this year.

But I'd take a consistent album that's good for sitting down and just listening to over something quick any day. With strong riffs, real emotive vocals (though they may have risked diction getting there) and enough variation to make eight long tracks seem like nine short ones, Pianos Become the Teeth's "The Lack Long After" has given me a few good reasons to order it.

9.1

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