“Then they took the honey before the flower.”
Carrying on a hardcore tradition established in recent years, Tired Minds returns to speakers after a lengthy absence. Not as lengthy as some peers, but a whole pandemic later, we meet The Body Is A Burden. In preparation for this review, I had the chance to try out their 2017 full-length Loom and emerged quite impressed. This Australian five-piece group deals heavily in dissonant riffs and tempo-driven tracks to solid effect.
The delay between releases stems largely from the pandemic, as work on this album started in 2019. This time around however, the band faces greater challenges to establish a foothold. They return to a sound arguably oversaturated, with bands both new and old consistently dropping excellent music within this same space. The Body Is A Burden must prove that it deserves your fifteen minutes as much as any other EP in post-hardcore/screamo. So how did they do?
Opener “Spit to Cud” bursts onto the scene with a classic-sounding melodic hardcore number at a breakneck pace. As far as setting the tone, it seems to bleed enough aggression to hit the right numbers. It even opens up around the 1:50 mark with a nice instrumental passage to slow things down. With that said, we again arrive at the Problem, which is that we’ve heard this before. Not this exactly, of course, and this is still done quite well, but a note to keep an ear on.
Shook into a shiver,
In a skin that sings to bone.
Flail in the body,
Of the sister of the son.
Lead single “The Fray Of Rotted Rope” does turn things up a skosh. Beginning with an isolated drum fill, it quickly hooks left and breaks into a nasty, angular lead riff. With that said, the highlight is the wandering, desperate-sounding chords that pop up a bit later to float above it all. The refrain of “Men like them will bathe in all our shame” punctuates this section as it ends and probably defines the high water mark.
The subsequent title track has a similar moment just before the forty-second mark, a cleaner riff that sails above the main, nearly black metal-infused lead. To acknowledge that main riff for a moment as well, it absolutely howls through and makes for a tight midpoint for the EP.
We all howl for glory,
Teeth that we file to fit,
Songs that sell you blues.
By the time the second single “Bed Lore” comes around, the band has shown the majority of its hand. It comes off a bit like Birds in Row meets The Chariot, which is by all means a compliment. Still, this track marks where the aforementioned “challenge” appears unmet, or at least not fully met. Very tightly done, and skillfully packaged together, but perhaps not quite as inspired or cutting edge. Closer “Born In Weatherboard” generally falls into a similar category where it might lack staying power vs. earlier tracks.
The Body Is A Burden will definitively answer any question of if Tired Minds still has it. This EP proves a worthwhile addition to any fan in this scene’s collection. With that said, it doesn’t show quite as much as Loom was able to in terms of retaining attention across its length. Still, the album’s highlights stand tall on their own and offer potential glimpses into an exciting future. Tired Minds is a band worth keeping tabs on.
7.5/10
Tired Minds – The Body Is A Burden comes out this Friday, September 8 on Art as Catharsis and you can pre-order it here.