Released:
Rating:
One of the best albums you will listen to this year.
Label: Epitaph
Released: September 16th 2016
Rating: ★★★★
Music is an escape, a friend in dark times who just gets you – it’s there when, often, no one else is. Touché Amoré have been there for years, that friend on hand to let you literally tear your throat in loud, visceral relief. They’ve never shied away from putting themselves in the music for others to find it, and when the worst realities of life hit the family of singer Jeremy Bohm, he laid it bare.
‘Stage Four’ is family, love, loss, cancer and personal hell.
The thing about Touché is a weight is lifted when you listen – they have a way of helping you channel your own frustrations and aggressions, even if you didn’t know they were there, and this is no different.
‘New Halloween’ reflects a year after his loss with the tough content almost deceptively catchy, ‘Benediction’ softens the music where and puts Jeremy’s vocals at the fore, and ‘Water Damage’ is a particularly emotive stand out.
This is the whole process of grief and its specific moments, startlingly honest, to the point it feels almost too intimate for you to have this insight.
They’ve treaded new ground, swapped some screams for clean, they’re even catchier at moments than you’d expect, but ultimately this boils down to one thing: a band who are a shining visceral release on the scene have done it again. It’s emotive, powerful, and Touché at their charged finest. This is one of the best albums you will listen to this year. Heather McDaid
