Einstein was a genius. I am sure we can all agree; regardless of how deep ones knowledge of his work goes. But, past the particles and the theories of relativity, Einstein was too, a philosopher. Calling everyone a genius, he devised that if you set standards for a fish based on its ability to climb a tree; you would only be disappointed with its outcome. This world is massive, filled with niches and groups and subcultures alike, and the beautiful thing about it is that not one person can fill every single role. No matter what you, or I do, there will always be someone better at something than us, and we must respect that. Everything is an art.

Enter Hang Your Head.

Now my introduction may seem a little extravagant for a hardcore band from California, but that is exactly my point; everything with purpose. With their new EP The Love’s Not Dead Until We’re Dead, Hang Your Head offer their way into a niche, and their new EP is the next step. Four tracks of blistering hardcore, with dirty, distorted tonality that works static around loud guitars and a pounding rhythm section. Everything has a place.

Beginning with “Sincerely, Ours,” Hang Your Head lead an anthem that we have all sung before, but is that really a bad thing? Emulation does not equal reproduction, it yields respect. After our letter of introduction, and the Hemingway allusion aside, “The Young Man And The Sea” highlights more of what we heard from “Sincerely, Ours” in its first half. The track takes an interesting turn a little after the halfway mark, with a welcomed change in dynamics. The ending of the song gives rise to brighter guitars drowned in distortion, and execute one of the most exciting parts of the EP.

This pulsation continuing on “Judas” in a powerful way, the track culminates the better parts of the first half of the work. Structurally, we are finding frequent similarities, but for the short and sweet ride that The Love’s Not Dead Until We’re Dead is, that feeling finds itself subdued for the time being. “Forget” starts with a bang, and gives us some of the most coherently versatile aspects of the work, but it is the ending that sticks the most. Slow, brutal, dreary, loud and full of feedback, the closing of the EP is everything it needs to be. This is where the work shines the most.

If Hang Your Head continue to take the more dynamic and pulsing moments from their repertoire, The Love’s Not Dead Until We’re Dead will act as an exciting step for the band in the future. Continuing to push their sonic resonance, I anxiously await where they find themselves next.

SCORE: 7.5/10

Review written by: Andrew Caruso — Follow him on Twitter

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Brian Leak

Editor-In-Chief. King of forgetting drinks in the freezer. Pop culture pack rat. X-Phile. LOST apologist.

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