THIS PLACE YOU KNOW
4TH ALBUM BY ONE STEP CLOSER (1ST ONE ON RUN FOR COVER RECORDS)
(HARDCORE)
RELEASED ON SEPTEMBER 24, 2021
Recorded, Mixed and Mastered by Eric ChesekArtwork by Jeffrey Kam
Written and recorded by One Step Closer and Eric Chesek
Additional Guitar on Time Spent, Too Long written by Caleb Harnett
WHAT THIS ALBUM DOES WELL: If you are a Go Indie Now fan or if you follow us you may remember that "From Me To You" was my #1 album of 2019. What I loved about that album was its richness and its true to form essence that has made me a hardcore fan for since I was a teen. The fact One Step Closer took me back to those days of flailing in the pits and rushing the stage to see bands just go for it put them up there as one of my new favorite bands. So I felt like One Step Closer was as apt a band name as there ever has been. Always feeling this band had an unique tether on the Hardcore genre in ways that a lot of the bands they are compared too have not lasted. Then when I started the much anticipated "This Place You Know" the fact I was hit right in the face with just how far they have come made me smile. However, what I didn't expect was to be taken on a journey that has so many layers, so many different points of entry, and so much more depth than most bands entire catalogues. Yeah there are going to be those who are hardcore purists who will frown upon a few of these songs and a few who don't like hardcore per say but might gravitate to a few songs here. You know what though, you like what you like, but if you can't appreciate a band that doesn't sit on there laurels and just ride the wave in one style or another, then maybe its not the band or album that sucks, just saying. This album is so well thought out in how it presents you the different phases of what One Step Closer is trying to do here. It plays out nearly like 3 act structure, with the first 3 songs just punching you right in the face and then there is a moment where it turns into this deeply melodic, slow churn (complete with a piano solo at the end of one of the songs), into the winding up massively strong finish. Vocalist Ryan Savitski has such a great growl and great cadence that no matter the tempo it works on nearly every song. "As The City Sleeps" and previously released single "Pringle Street" are great examples of that. Probably my 2 favorite songs on the album. "Pringle Street" is the one with the ending piano solo. For those who are like and appreciate strong hardcore "I Feel So" is one of those openers where you could see them just jump right out onto the stage and start a blistering set with live. It is such an awesome 1:46. Ryan saves a lot of what doesn't work here but he is far from alone. Tommy Norton's drums really set up a lot of the stronger efforts but really save some of the tougher ones too. Guitarists Grady Allen and Ross Thompson really shine on my 2 favorites but are as solid as they get. The only thing I would say is its tough sometimes to know where one song ends and the next begins if you are listening from the start to the end. Now none of the songs really disappoint me and when they are put into a random playlist with some of my favorite hardcore and punk bands over the years you almost start to appreciate how fucking good this band really is and how what you thought are the weaker songs are stronger than most other bands' weaker efforts.
WHY YOU SHOULD CHAMPION THIS ALBUM: In the end this is an album, that if you were to read the lyrics and just let the music take you on a journey, you might come to find that One Step Closer is not just a band name but more how to describe the feeling you have been feeling for the past 18 months. This is an album that expresses that frustration with an amazing word array that I think any artist would appreciate and maybe even agree with. Any band that can do that, no matter what style the music is in, I say deserves a chance on your playlists and in your earbuds. I will caution you might want to turn the volume down a tad because when the music starts it doesn't let you go for a bit. This is what Indie music is all about , taking a genre by the balls and saying I am here mother fucker and ain't going anywhere. I really hope that is the case with One Step Closer because this is a place I really want to know and be in as much as I can be.
IF YOU LIKE: At The Drive In, Fugazi, Sick Of It All, and Touche Amore you should like This Place You Know and One Step Closer
YOU CAN GET THE ALBUM HERE
Learn more about One Step Closer HERE
Recorded, Mixed and Mastered by Eric ChesekArtwork by Jeffrey Kam
Written and recorded by One Step Closer and Eric Chesek
Additional Guitar on Time Spent, Too Long written by Caleb Harnett
WHAT THIS ALBUM DOES WELL: If you are a Go Indie Now fan or if you follow us you may remember that "From Me To You" was my #1 album of 2019. What I loved about that album was its richness and its true to form essence that has made me a hardcore fan for since I was a teen. The fact One Step Closer took me back to those days of flailing in the pits and rushing the stage to see bands just go for it put them up there as one of my new favorite bands. So I felt like One Step Closer was as apt a band name as there ever has been. Always feeling this band had an unique tether on the Hardcore genre in ways that a lot of the bands they are compared too have not lasted. Then when I started the much anticipated "This Place You Know" the fact I was hit right in the face with just how far they have come made me smile. However, what I didn't expect was to be taken on a journey that has so many layers, so many different points of entry, and so much more depth than most bands entire catalogues. Yeah there are going to be those who are hardcore purists who will frown upon a few of these songs and a few who don't like hardcore per say but might gravitate to a few songs here. You know what though, you like what you like, but if you can't appreciate a band that doesn't sit on there laurels and just ride the wave in one style or another, then maybe its not the band or album that sucks, just saying. This album is so well thought out in how it presents you the different phases of what One Step Closer is trying to do here. It plays out nearly like 3 act structure, with the first 3 songs just punching you right in the face and then there is a moment where it turns into this deeply melodic, slow churn (complete with a piano solo at the end of one of the songs), into the winding up massively strong finish. Vocalist Ryan Savitski has such a great growl and great cadence that no matter the tempo it works on nearly every song. "As The City Sleeps" and previously released single "Pringle Street" are great examples of that. Probably my 2 favorite songs on the album. "Pringle Street" is the one with the ending piano solo. For those who are like and appreciate strong hardcore "I Feel So" is one of those openers where you could see them just jump right out onto the stage and start a blistering set with live. It is such an awesome 1:46. Ryan saves a lot of what doesn't work here but he is far from alone. Tommy Norton's drums really set up a lot of the stronger efforts but really save some of the tougher ones too. Guitarists Grady Allen and Ross Thompson really shine on my 2 favorites but are as solid as they get. The only thing I would say is its tough sometimes to know where one song ends and the next begins if you are listening from the start to the end. Now none of the songs really disappoint me and when they are put into a random playlist with some of my favorite hardcore and punk bands over the years you almost start to appreciate how fucking good this band really is and how what you thought are the weaker songs are stronger than most other bands' weaker efforts.
WHY YOU SHOULD CHAMPION THIS ALBUM: In the end this is an album, that if you were to read the lyrics and just let the music take you on a journey, you might come to find that One Step Closer is not just a band name but more how to describe the feeling you have been feeling for the past 18 months. This is an album that expresses that frustration with an amazing word array that I think any artist would appreciate and maybe even agree with. Any band that can do that, no matter what style the music is in, I say deserves a chance on your playlists and in your earbuds. I will caution you might want to turn the volume down a tad because when the music starts it doesn't let you go for a bit. This is what Indie music is all about , taking a genre by the balls and saying I am here mother fucker and ain't going anywhere. I really hope that is the case with One Step Closer because this is a place I really want to know and be in as much as I can be.
IF YOU LIKE: At The Drive In, Fugazi, Sick Of It All, and Touche Amore you should like This Place You Know and One Step Closer
YOU CAN GET THE ALBUM HERE
Learn more about One Step Closer HERE
Comments
Post a Comment