“The worst is coming for you and I’ll get mine.”
New York’s self-proclaimed ‘Far Out Hardcore‘ quintet Spaced are set to take on the world one power chord at a time as they carve out a well-deserved place in the hardcore scene. They come armed with only a fistful of cosmic, sound-bending groove and demand just 15 minutes of your time. Originally popping their heads out of the ground in 2021 with their 4-track demo lovingly entitled DEMO, and subsequently Spaced Jams in 2022 (combining DEMO’s tracks with 4 little ditties), we now bare witness as the band prepare to release their first full LP release with This Is All We Ever Get. Revelation Records is a label that has gained a somewhat legendary status for having it’s ear to the ground when it comes to the latest and greatest in hardcore, with such acts such as Drain and Gorilla Biscuits, so expectations are certainly set for Spaced.
Like a flying kick headed straight for your bedroom drywall, “Landslide” opens the record with little warning, wasting as little time as possible. Vocalist Lexi Reyngoudt makes their presence known, taking an immediate swing at the listener with their piercing vocal style, nestled somewhere between shouting and barking. “Landslide” serves as masterclass in Spaced-ology, getting you up to speed with as many hallmarks of the Spaced sound as you can muster in under two minutes. Sliding power chord riffage paired with coordinated gang vocals, fantastical and stimulating wails from the lead guitar, and of course, the classic ever-intensifying half-time bridge to close us out.
As the record slides on into “Big Picture”, Spaced demonstrate a pretty straight-forward mission statement of maintaining the traditional groundwork that their hardcore forefathers before them, with audible inspiration songwriting-wise from bands such as the aforementioned Gorilla Biscuits as well as wildcards like Suicidal Tendencies. The band’s secret ingredient comes in the form of sonic delivery and texture, opting to stimulate the listener with sprinklings of instrumental tones and noises more typically at home in genres such as new-wave, indie, industrial and noise rock (citing such bands as Swans, The Cure, My Bloody Valentine among others as direct influence). This approach is more so noticeable on tracks like “Big Picture” and its follow up “Downfall”. The added injection of melody allows this concept room to breathe through a pretty gnarly lead section, including a brief guitar solo towards the end of “Big Picture”, as well as “Downfall”’s almost mocking chorus and ambient noise filling the blanks.
Instrumental interlude track “AIATB” (“Alone In A Taco Bell”) completely changes up the vibe, slowing things down. This brings upon us a rather tranquil trance track that invites the listener to just bask in its serenity for a little while, before the flatline of amplifier feedback delivers us back to the harsh reality that is the rest of the album. It not only serves as a well-deserved breather, without killing the pacing of the album as a whole. While in itself is also a quite interesting style for the band to venture into, adding variation and texture to the album’s overall soundscape.
Snapping us out of this dreamlike daze we find ourselves caught in the “Rat Race”, and it isn’t looking too dilly-dally. Much like the ever-hectic landscape of the every day survival-of-the-fittest that the band voices disdain for, Spaced seemingly feel right at home speeding up and slowing down as the song demands, starting us out at a steady pace and upping the intensity over time. The track climaxes with a half-time “Us – against you!” gang chant to really drive the point home that the band would rather ignore the status quo altogether than partake in the draining misery that modern life expects of us. Keeping up the trend of unrelenting groove, “The Difference” near-instantly wins the “best riff” contest with some tantalizingly delicious axework courtesy of string-section Joe Morganti and Donny Arthur. By extension, the chorus benefits greatly from a variation of this golden riff, with vocals and guitars consolidating into one anthemic hook, practically begging for fans to shout along to live.
Probably the best possible subtitle for This Is All We Ever Get – “Cosmic Groove” voices a concern over a diminishing sense of identity, with its howled verses of “I need, I need, I need, I need!” and “I know, I know, I know, I know!”. It feel like they are almost being mimicked and mocked by the instrumental in a call-and-response type manner. As per the norm, the leadwork really shines on this track, a highlight of the song being the return of an exhilarating guitar solo, coupled with some really ethereal clean-ish vocals, both taking clear advantage of the atypical approach to dynamics for the genre.
Our final and longest track, sitting at a hefty 2 and a half minutes, is “Running Man”. Tasteful beats provided by drummer Dan McCormick back up yet another groove-infused riff that build us up before we are launched into the meat of the song by the starting-gun of isolated bass. This is a better point than any to mention that I really enjoy John Vaughan’s crunchy yet filling bass tone on this album. Good bass naturally always gets a few extra brownie points from me, which is just as well, because it gets a good few moments to shine on this latter half of the LP, often taking centre stage for a low and crisp reprise of already established riffs for dramatic effect. As we prepare to part ways with Spaced for now, vocalist Lexi looks reflectively at the course of the album and beyond – “Will all of this mean anything? Sometimes it’s hard to tell” they sing defeatedly into the void. Both Lexi and Spaced as a whole consistently do an honest and telling job at projecting this kind of grounded existentialism, with the general burnout of living in modern society becoming a common theme for the LP that I’m certain a wide audience can resonate with at the moment.
In spite of the bleak title and the brief runtime of 15 minutes and 32 seconds, I found that the album did not, in fact leave me asking “Is This All We Ever Get?”. Spaced manages to give the hardcore punk formula a fairly fresh coat of paint with a new and relatable message that both oldheads and newcomers can appreciate, whilst also setting a pretty promising standard for the band’s sound moving forward. However, in future I would personally like to see Spaced perhaps lean further into the unique soundscape that sets them apart from their peers, as I find this to be one of their stronger traits. If dialled up a notch, this could really aid in diversifying the band’s catalogue, although I could also see this being a divisive creative choice for hardcore purists. Either way, the waves that Spaced make are real, and they’re coming to get you.
7.5/10
This Is All We Ever Get will be released via Revelation Records on Friday, March 22nd, and can be pre-orderd here.