“Did you find what you left for?”
Respire defy easy placing in any given label. In poking around for this review, I have seen screamo, post-hardcore, blackgaze, post-metal, and “post-everything” used to describe them. Surely, this quality arises from the sheer scope, being made of 7 members and 3 members of the “Extended Family” listed on the bandcamp page. With that said, these distinct voices came together admirably in 2020’s Black Line, which some listeners placed in the top 20 of their yearly lists. As such, the band faces a challenge to repeat this triumph given just the reception. With that said, four years later we receive Hiraeth, which boldly states: “We are all guilty. We can all be saved”.
Trying to find the words,
Trying to find the way,
To thrash against. To thrash again,
The meaning eludes me, the feeling never stays.
“Keening” loudly opens the album, powered by strong violin backing up the more traditional screamo intro. It builds quickly before breaking into the darkly triumphant and melancholic “Did you find what you left for?” section and then dropping down. The center bridge section, though quieter and slower paced, is anything but sparse. By the halfway mark, so much has occurred that it’s almost hard to describe, and it just picks right back up again. This track alone acts as a microcosm of the album and proves a great showcase of what to expect.
Sweet sickly morning glow,
Songbird chorus sharpens the blow.
The frigid chill of the crash,
Stinging regret with cigarette ash.
After the near constant pummeling of “The Match, Consumed”, lead single “Distant Light of Belonging” drops in gracefully. After an ambient-ish opening section, it splits into a slightly more traditionally structured post-hardcore number. Complete with soaring chorus, the guitar leads off and to the right to give way to brass and whining violin. Indeed, the depth of sound on display should not be understated – there are layers upon layers of instrumentation whirling around at most every given time.
Between singles, tracks like “First Snow” and “Voiceless; Nameless” carry similar water. Each one demonstrates rich textures and memorable moments, diving in and out of recognizable genres into exciting progressions and unexpected turns. Some albums drag at this section, but it’s hard to find cuttable moments or anything not holding up its weight amongst the rest of the tracks on Hiraeth.
It won’t get better before it gets worse.
Tomorrow always felt like home.
I went to see over the horizon,
Beyond this line of sight.
Final single “The Sun Sets Without Us” quickly earns its place amongst the rest. Opening with one of the best and bounciest riffs here, it twists around the prominent saxophone effortlessly. Then, almost unrecognizable with its clean proclamation that “It won’t get better before it gets worse“. This moment leads to perhaps the most crescendo-core moment on the album, but this is a band that excels in this space.
Finally, closer “Farewell (In Standard)” serves to lull the listener after the forty-plus-minute barrage. The sparsest instrumentation yet, accompanied by the softest vocals and most endearing lyrics. Building the necessary space to punctuate this album, it’s incredibly appropriate and helps to lick the wounds inflicted across the rest of its runtime.
Overall, just about everything that Respite attempts on Hiraeth is instantly a success. Black Line showed incredible potential and great execution, and nearly every element levels up here. In particular, the seamless transitions between tracks make for a unified experience. At any rate, Hiraeth is one of the most complete albums that I’ve heard in 2024 and is worthy of any and all flowers it may receive.
9.5/10
Repire – Hiraeth comes out this Friday, July 26 on Dine Alone Records with pre-orders here.