Invigorating and heady epitomize this EP by Swedish quintet Alicewell. Their take backing on the popularity of bands like Bring Me The Horizon and Asking Alexandria is well defined but it’s nothing divisively special.
Opening with transcendental chanting that ruminates on the grandeur Alicewell try to capture throughout the EP creates the illusion that it’s something larger than life. It unfortunately descends into the rigmarole Emo plays in the Rock genre. A whiny soliloquy about exclusivity, or more importantly exclusion.
Without the incendiary ferocity of say- Ollie Sykes, Alicewell sound too bleeding happy to be complaining about what their lyrical content proposes. The Young Hearts Ep has a very Summery disposition and given that the overall tone is somewhat moribund it’s often sweet. If it had a flavour in beverage it’d be Summer Fruits, with no ice.
It’s not a bad attempt at pop rock, it’s just not very singular or a definitive recording. It has the appeal of being inclusive to the Emo genre but its style is from Top Shop. It’s musing on fodder and without anything that is easily identifiable as Alicewell their thin groans on personality turn to grey. Although well presented and finely produced without any defining characteristics it’s just another band that sound like someone else.
6/10
