“A first draft parent just passing all the bad shit down.“
All Get Out have expanded to a quartet for their latest record, seeing the addition of Dominic Nastasi and James Gibson to the original line-up of Nathan Hussey and Kyle Samuel. The indie rock/emo-infused unit now present their latest record, Kodak, following on from 2018’s No Bouquet. Across its 10 tracks it covers the concept of living in a small town in America, and the result of that being frozen in time. All Get Out have relayed similar stories and concepts with tracks on their previous record, such as “Survive” from the perspective of an ailing hospital patient.
Kodak‘s sound is one that makes the most of the confines that the genre can live in, with scattered moments threatening to break out of it. On “Feeling Well” there is an energy to it that All Get Out occasionally pull out, bringing in some post-hardcore elements for a brief moment to send the track into a mild frenzy. “Walk Me Through It” has a longing guitar solo that carries itself through the spine of track when it appears. The bridge in “AA Almanac” ushers into a crescendo of Kodak’s heaviest riffs, giving the record a blow-off before it enters themore melancholic folk moments of its final three tracks.
There is a pleasantness and a warmth to Kodak that’s difficult not to be drawn in by, particularly on softer tracks such as the closing trio of “Sumter“, “Quitter” and “Know Your Tell“. While I wouldn’t call it a cathartic melancholy across the record, there’s a comfort to be found in the stories it offers, even if there is a slight feeling that some of the themes of existentialism, exhaustion and futility are themes that are becoming well-explored by others throughout the genre. This criticism could also be levied towards Kodak sonically; while it’s a solid performance, it feels a little too familiar to what Manchester Orchestra and similar bands pull off.
All Get Out‘s fourth effort will be a more-than-enjoyable experience to their fanbase, exploring narratives and sounds that they will be familiar with. Hussey‘s soaring vocals and melodies return along with the band’s varied and at times explosive instrumentals. The other side of the coin to this is that it perhaps sits too much in the same vein as what has come before, and what the genre has offered as a whole across the last decades. Whilst there is a decent album here, it does little to challenge itself and create something exceptional.
6.5/10
Kodak is out June 3rd via Rude Records/Equal Vision Records. You can pre-order the record here.