Album Review: Too Close to Touch – For Keeps

A fierce album with plenty of melody.

For Keeps, Too Close To Touch’s final album after vocalist Keaton Pierce’s passing in 2022, starts with an ethereal, ruminative quality, the music haunting and also audibly striking. But the quiet, pensive ambiance is only an interlude, a heavier, darker sound on the horizon. “Novocaine (feat. Bad Omens)” embodies a thought-provoking sound that delivers an unshakable performance. The lyrics are as chilling as the relentless minor chords, brief visceral screams slicing through the air. 

“Disappear” immediately offers up a punchier beat while keeping in line with the album’s overall emotive appeal. The vocals are equally undeniable, the instrumentals leaving plenty of room for strong lyrics and plenty of talent. 

As For Keeps progresses, “Hurt Reynolds (feat. The Word Alive)” delivers another high-octane beat, the percussion at the forefront without screaming for attention. Each band member allows for cohesive collaboration, each instrument working perfectly in tandem. In some respects, For Keeps is an amalgam of sound, but it works, a more melancholic tone uniting each track, each measure. 

“Control” offers listeners another musing – and, in ways, a meditative – exploration into the band’s psyche, each chord progression finding beauty in the music and lyrics. “Control” delivers plenty of grit but still promises to keep in line with Too Close To Touch’s visceral sound, relentless vocals tearing speakers to shreds. 

There are songs with more grit and punch than others, “Designer Decay (feat. Cane Hill)” is a prime example. But the bulk of the album is rife with introspective tunes that give the listener pause. 

For Keeps is melodic but still captures the true essence of aggressive music with an infectious beat and is a perfect reminder of permanence in emotion, especially in music. Catchalls like “screamo” may have come and gone with the early 2000s, but there are still plenty of opportunities to incorporate this type of guttural wail into melodic music. Too Close to Touch seamlessly enmeshes the two, providing a listening experience for all to enjoy.