Dynamically Driven Hardcore

New Hampshire based hardcore outfit Youth Funeral are making a storm in the punk scene with their debut full-length LP Heavenward. Clocking in at only 15 minutes, it’s quick to see why fans find this exciting. The music hits hard and fast, but it’s their mastery of the genre that leaves a lasting impact.

In hardcore and noise rock, short song lengths are the norm. Most of these songs clock in just under a couple of minutes, and a few of them even less than one. Right from the opening title track, the listener is hit with a full-frontal barrage of chaotic hardcore dissonance fueled by fast-paced punk beats and a powerful vocal presence.

By the third track, Youth Funeral starts to show their musical diversity. “Only In Sleep Safe” gives the first hints at the band’s more toned-down, melodic side. Relentless aggression shifts seamlessly into deep, emotional transcendence. These progressive post-hardcore elements breathe life into the noise-driven cacophony, stretching away from monotony and moving towards more emotional complexity.

There’s plenty of ups and downs on this roller coaster of a record. “Lonely Man” juxtaposes solemn, down-tempo verses against heavy, driving chorus lines. The insanity of “Unthought” leads right into the warm intimacy of “Bloom,” which takes the dial from eleven to two with sweet, melodic, chord arpeggiations that sound more like a lullaby than something you’d expect from a hardcore band. The album climaxes with the final track “With Love I Weep,” which perfectly blends of all the album’s core strengths: melody, dynamics, and dissonance, which come together to form a perfect combination of post-hardcore bliss that hits all the right feelings in all the right places.

On Heavenward, Youth Funeral have put together something special in the realm of progressive hardcore. The display of genre mastery and exceptional songwriting will be something that will tug the crusty heartstrings of punk fans all over.