“I’m waiting on a prayer that God will never hear.”
Palisades are a big name in the post-hardcore scene, sitting at a cool half-million monthly listeners on Spotify. Which begs the question—why the heavy lean into hard rock with their latest release, Reaching Hypercritical? They’ve always been a band who’ve had no qualms switching up genres, but ever since 2018’s Erase The Pain it’s felt like they’ve lost touch with their roots without forging a new path of their own. Reaching Hypercritical is undoubtedly an improvement on the previous attempt, yet it remains dated and by-the-numbers, rooted in well-worn genre tropes offset by fleeting moments of individual brilliance.
Bassist Brandon Elgar stepping up to perform sole vocal duty is admirable, and he does a more-than-serviceable job. The uncleans resemble 00s active rock far more than the deeper, sharper screams one would expect from a contemporary post-hardcore album, and I can’t decide whether I love or hate them, for the nostalgia in it lies in conflict with the all-too-slick production that prevents them from having any real kick. His cleans, however, tie the album together, from slow and pretty to straight pop (I can only hear the chorus to Demi Lovato’s “Heart Attack” in the escalating run of “Invincible (Die Down)”) to bearing an occasional gritty edge which thankfully persists through post-production. I struggle to connect with them emotionally as I did with tracks like “Cold Hear (Warm Blood)”, “Memories”, and “Personal” on their self-titled, but they’re certainly not the issue with this album.
What Palisades have lost is their swagger. I can appreciate what they are trying to do with the message of their songs, but the record is rife with clichés like ‘I’m an animal’ and ‘let it consume you.’ For the most part, the guitarwork is bouncy enough, even if it does not tread new ground, yet it cannot disguise the uninspired basslines and percussion with the glaring hole where synths sat on previous albums. The drums are flat across the record, and the overall mix is too glossy for the hard rock sound they’re aiming for, leaving it lacking any real bite. Songs like “My Consequences”, “Reaching Hypercritical”, and “Invincible (Die Down)” sound made for a 2009 Anime Music Video, sporting the occasional riffdown but nary a true breakdown in sight outside of mid-album cut “Better“.
Considering that what I wanted from this album was a heavier Palisades, it’s interesting that the softer songs are what really stand out to me. “Without You” is a sweet, largely balladic track that has an extremely nostalgic feel, its vocal patterns sounding straight out of Breaking Benjamin’s “Angels Fall”. Something about “Sober”, too, keeps me coming back; lyrically, it’s a dismal and juvenile track that feels very out of place with the tone of the record, but the instrumentals and vocal delivery have a swagger that make it a real fun listen. Final track “Closure” contains a lot of textures that make it one of the most interesting tracks on the record despite arguably being the softest; muffled 808s and staccato clapping give it a strong percussive backing the rest of Reaching Hypercritical lacks, and the intermittent violin and piano provide a very cinematic feel even in the confines of a tight soundscape. This, all before the song opens up and closes out the record with a bang, gracing us with one of the record’s few guitar solos.
On the heavier end, “Sick Of The Attitude” will probably be a standout for many on a first listen, leaping out of the gates into a riffy and bombastic romp. It’s an energetic but predictable track, and with some small tweaks could be a middling Beartooth cut. Likewise, second single “Better” slips into tedium despite a promising initial melody, but it’s fortunately sandwiched between two of the better tracks on the record, “Without You” and “Fray”. The subtle electronics in “Fray” that give a tease of the band’s roots are a welcome element, as well as the broody keys that close it out. The longest track on the album at 4:10, it also sports one of the most memorable choruses on Reaching Hypercritical.
For a band who were at one point among the pioneers of electronicore, Reaching Hypercritical feels like an overall regression. Once upon a time I would’ve rated this much higher. It’s by no means bad, but now it feels incredibly derivative. It’s inoffensive, largely catchy, and taps into a nostalgic sound that might pull me back whenever I need some easy listening, but for experienced listeners of the genre there is little new substance here.
Reaching Hypercritical will be released this Friday, 22nd July, via Rise Records, and you can pre-order it here.
6/10