Album Reviews
If you checked out the singles that dropped in the lead-up to the release of Loud Love’s debut full-length (‘Cannonball, ‘Taylor’ and ‘Imposter Syndrome’), you probably already noticed that the Belgian band was more than ever living up to its name. And listening to the whole album, it becomes very clear very quickly that these guys most definitely stepped up their game with the help of producer Tim Van Doorn.
‘Bright Shadows’ comes with 11 tracks that still pack all of the urgency and hardcore energy of their previous releases. Cuts like ‘Bloodred’ and ‘Homeward Bound’ show that vocalist Dries Olemans hasn’t quite lost his bite, delivering blood-curdling screams like it’s already Halloween. But more than ever, ‘Bright Shadows’ finds Loud Love leaning into their melodic side with Olemans flexing his clean vocalsalong with leaving plenty of room for singalong moments. The whole album ebbs and flows nicely, while expanding on the band's previously established sound. Opener 'Renaissance' sounds like an 00's emo song on steroids, 'Cannonball' sounds downright poppy and with 'Shadowplay' they show that you can actually throw in some post-punk vibes and not end up sounding like every other post-punk band out there.
Everything about 'Bright Shadows' screams cathartic, even more so when you listen to the lyrics. Apparently the album stems from a couple of the band’s members working through a challenging and negative period in their lives. They take it all on headfirst and in doing so, have pieced together a melodic post-hardcore album that deserves to get a lot of… wait for it… loud love.
Bright Shadows track listing:
- Renaissance
- Cannonball
- Taylor Swift
- Ultraviolet
- Best Kept Secret
- Costello
- Bloodred
- Homeward Bound
- Imposter Syndrome
- Shadowplay
- Perfect Alibi
Lacking the talent to actually play in a band, Tom decided he would write about bands instead. Turns out his writing skills are mediocre at best as well.
