Album Reviews

- by Tom Dumarey

Back when they were still operating under the Crash Of Rhinos moniker, guitarist Jim Cork, bassist Ian Draper and drummer Oliver Craven sometimes ended up sounding complex for complexity’s sake. When they pulled the plug on that band somewhere after 2013’s ‘Knots’ and re-emerged as Holding Patterns, that complexity is something they slowly let go of.

Just check out ‘Endless,’ the band’s latest output, where they allow the songs to just be their own thing, making everything move along so much smoother instead of getting tied up in complex arrangements. That doesn’t mean the guitars sound any less calculated in all their palm-muted beauty as they are determined to find out just how far they can push things before they descend into dissonance. Nor does it mean that the drums aren’t relentless without sounding too busy. Yet somehow it all sounds a lot more digestible and shows you what upbeat emo done right sounds like.

Not convinced yet? Let single ‘At Speed’ and the post-rocking ‘First Responder’ lure you and notice how you will be entirely won over by the time you get to ‘Long Dead’ and ‘Momentarily,’ two more songs that are as heavy and moody as they are twinkly.

Track listing:

1. Glow    
2. At Speed    
3. First Responder    
4. Centered At Zero    
5. No Accident    
6. Pyre    
7. Dust    
8. This Shot Will Ring    
9. Endless    
10. House Fire    
11. Long Dead    
12. Momentarily