Poison The Well: The Tropic Rot

Before you listen to this album, it might be worth considering that this is a very different beast that the one entitled Versions which they gave us back in 2007.

Some people, including us, enjoyed the western-tinged shenanigans and new-found sense of dynamic structure. Others thought it was a insult to hardcore-punk for a band to experiment with other textures. The good news is, their second album for Ferret Music will surely disappoint both parties, so no one's a winner this time.

The first juncture of complaintville, the vocals. Just as before, the hardcore screams sound great, but why is it that every time front-man Jeffrey Moreira does his vocals clean, they sound as if they've been recorded inside a cave? It makes the album sound like a cross between From Autumn To Ashes and Mika Miko. The cliché delivery is also a huge-winged albatross upon The Tropic Rot, adding PTW to the long list of bands who, once the tempo increases, automatically veer towards screaming, and when it drops, revert to clean singing.

Sonically, the signature sound of every single track are uncomfortably similar. The percussion backing the songs is unimaginative, utlising the same rhythms for each tempo. Do we have a cavernous, slowly-strummed mid-section with restrained distortion? Then wheel out the cascading tom/snare rolls. Kinetic scream-section? We'll need slight variations of the standard 4/4 beat with lots of cymbals.

Normally the drums aren't relied upon in a band to add variety, but since the guitarists are unlikely to do it. It's worth a shot. We'd also take it as a courtesy if Moreira didn't sound so resolutely bored during every chorus. There's a fairly big line between disenfranchised and disinterested, it's not too easy to cross.

Naturally, we can cite examples where it alls comes together without showcasing every aforementioned flaw at once. "Celebrate the Pyre", despite the repeated use of Deftones-style vocal off-key rolls, manages to rope together a simple, yet adrenalising mid-section before it all splutters back to default noodling.

The basic fact might be that PTW lack skill at crafting slower-paced music. While the heavy sections occasionally show a welcome diversity and tenacity, the breakdowns and echo sections usually fall into a nicely decorated rut before too long. There is barely a single hook to even text home about, let alone write.

With lines such as "I can hear those trumpets, they are playing for me and only me / They are to remind me I'm alive" you begin to think that maybe so many cleanly sung and lyrically decipherable lines weren't such a good idea after all. Surely the trumpets are there to send messages during battle? Or at least provide the laughs during band camp.

Lacking brutality, beauty, intrigue, diversity, melodic hooks and intelligence, it might be about time to replace the furniture.