“Ignite the sky, are you watching heaven burn?”
Trash Boat out of St. Albans, UK, has had a bit of a polarizing career. I remember Soupy of The Wonder Years tweeting about his song with them and a whole lot of pop punkers checking them out. Their proceeding debut album in 2016, Nothing I Write You Can Change What You’ve Been Through, was solid, but failed to leave a lasting impression. 2018’s Crown Shyness, however, shook up the scene. Scores of people were declaring it one of the best of the year, myself included, and that was largely in part to the energized, emotional, driven performances, and song writing on that sophomore album. Then came 2021’s Don’t You Feel Amazing? which, well, was not as good. It was one of the worst albums I listened to that year, and lots of fans were disappointed with it. I’m sure there are those out there that love that material, and I’m sure the band stands by it, but the fact of the matter is that it was not a successful release on multiple levels. Thus, I was hesitant to accept another album release into my life, but upon the band’s rollout of new material with “Delusions of Grandeur”, and “Liar Lar”, I had renewed faith that Trash Boat could put out a good album. I’m happy to report that their new album, Heaven Can Wait, out this Friday, is somewhere between Crown Shyness and Don’t You Feel Amazing?
The album’s opener, “Watching Heaven…” was actually what solidified my faith that the band was returning to form a bit. Just the fact that they were willing to develop a moody atmosphere for an intro was a positive sign. It then transitions into “…Burn” which has an up-tempo opening riff that leads into, once again, more moody, slower verses. There are even sections where vocalist Tobi Duncan is screaming over distorted metalcore riffs. All of these elements juxtaposed with a soaring, emotional chorus leaves the track with a lot of different aspects to latch onto and enjoy, a great success of an album start. That includes a trippy, subtle riff in the background of the sung verses, if you can catch it.
“Be Someone (feat. Eric Vanlerberghe)” in comparison is just a solid, albeit more basic track. The main riff is fine – not insulting, and Tobi’s topline is fairly catchy. There’s then a breakdown to make use of the Vanlerberghe feature, and overall the track gets heavier as it develops, which was a smart move, I think. The track largely touches on politics and Tobi’s anger at elements of the world, and I think the message is delivered well. And as I mentioned, though the track gets off to a slow start, the emotion and heaviness evolves a little bit, keeping the track interesting.
“Are You Ready Now?” dancing between whispered vocals and high energy riffage for the beginning of the track was a great start. This cut also has perhaps the deepest shades of Crown Shyness, as Tobi’s lyrics are close-ish to that emotional level, his vocals are in a similar pitch, and the instrumental work is great. If it wasn’t for the heavy bridge, it could maybe fit right in on Crown Shyness. It’s a strong entry in it’s own right on this album, though.
“Better Than Yesterday” is the first respite of the heaviness for Heaven Can Wait, and it’s well timed and welcome. Despite the good pacing and timing decisions, there are issues with the track. The mix on the guitar work way in the back of the mix is rough and stains an otherwise strong chorus. It also has a basic structure and chord progressions. There is some harmony work done with Tobi’s vocals in various ways at different points in the track, however, and that aids an already solid vocal performance on the cut.
“Break You” re-ups the energy and fully dives into it. Trash Boat have done hardcore adjacent tracks before, and this is another, and it’s like embracing an old friend. “I wanna break the cycle, I wanna break you down” is just one example of how the track is more focused on a fun, heavier, mosh-centric cut, and it works really well especially adding in Tobi’s great vocals. It very much sticks in a hardcore focused sound and structure, which, by the end of the track, might seem a little tiring, but it doesn’t overstay it’s welcome, in my opinion.
There are a couple different genres going on in “The Drip.” It has post-punk verses akin to IDLES, and the chorus is very much Ocean Grove. Other than ramping up tempo a bit in the back half of the track with a spacey pseudo breakdown, that about covers it. I mentioned “Delusions of Grandeur” earlier, and though I cited it as a reason I had renewed hope in Trash Boat, that doesn’t mean I loved it. It’s a weird mix of radio rock and nu-metal in tone. Maybe that’s why I’m reminded of Ocean Grove again, especially in the verses. However, that sound (intentional or not) is not executed as well as in “The Drip.”
The album ends on a high note with “Lazy” though it doesn’t feel like a closer by any means. I think “Lazy” would’ve been a fantastic single choice, closer or no. The vibe is much more mellow; it’s something more like Citizen or softer Neck Deep tracks. Combining Tobi’s unique cadence and impactful lyricism (albeit hit or miss across some recent material, for the latter), allows this track to come across as powerful. It lulls for a good portion of the run time, as it doesn’t take many turns, nor expands upon the initial instrumentation, but it’s a solid tune regardless.
As I’ve alluded to, I had plenty of doubts and trepidations going into Heaven Can Wait. Luckily, most of them were put to rest. Trash Boat feels invigorated on this album, as the song writing and overall quality is much better then their previous effort. To touch Crown Shyness, I’ll say that depends on the listener. The average song quality does still leave a bit to be desired, but your mileage may vary.
7/10
Heaven Can Wait is out October 4th via Hopeless Records.