MINI-ALBUM REVIEW PN 1. LIFE IS KILLING EXPECTATIONS
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PN are from Belgium
and play a blend of emo and melodic hardcore which they have termed ‘heartcore’.
Having been in existence for more than ten years, they’ve earned themselves a
considerable level of respect on home ground with both the industry and fans alike. ‘The
Art Of Being We’ is their seventh release to date showcasing six new songs over
the 25 minutes of music.
Their sound centres around a powerful hardcore base but has so many divergences from that reference it would be far too inaccurate and lazy to just call them a hardcore band. The songs on this mini-album have a great amount of depth and consequently require many listens to appreciate fully. This area is where PN have developed their style, adding the depth with layers of intricacy and melody that was not so prevalent on their earlier recordings. That said, there is still plenty of intense and aggressive energy to be found but it is almost always capped with the overruling dominance of melody and strong emotional undercurrents. The vocals interchange between softly sung melodic passages (that can be quite majestic) and harsh incensed shouting, together mixed with an abundance of passion. ‘Last Salute To A First Commitment’ is a good example of how they manage to harness lots of aggressive energy into a twisting emotional pressure cooker of melody. Another standout track is ‘Breaking The Thumb’, a gentle song tempered with hard breakouts and has a ‘feeling’ as well as a vocal presence very reminiscent of Liberty 37 (Ishmael Lewis), particularly during the quieter parts and is a comparison that comes to mind during several moments on the album. A very enjoyable, mature and well produced undertaking from PN that shows a definite determination to increase the use of passionate melody and utilise far more restrain than on previous material. As a result the songs do require more patience to appreciate and have less immediate appeal than many may expect, however it has greatly benefited the music with additional depth that gives more enduring interest. Rigsby (29th March, 2003) |
