Closer

Closer are a three-piece screamo/post-hardcore band from Brooklyn, New York that began in 2016. They released their debut LP in early 2018 via Lauren Records, Conditions Records, and Middle Man Records. All This Will Be is an incredible testament to the band's versatility, carving out a sound that's instrumentally intricate while being emotionally intense. They make an excellent use of dynamics through their heaven-reaching crescendos, offbeat syncopations, and a variety of vocalists and vocal styles (from spoken word to yellfests). The band sounds super tight as musicians, it's crazy to think that this is their first official release, since they sound like seasoned vets. Every song brings a new idea to the table, and shows a wide range of influence from the screamo/emo/hardcore/post-hardcore world. Some bands to loosely compare them to would be Circle Takes The Square, Suis La Lune, Old Gray, Touché Amoré, Mahria, Foxtails, and I Hate Sex, though none of those really nail down the same sound Closer works with.

Another thing I personally love about this album are the numerous vocal chants/mantras (whatever you want to call them) that the band have mastered. Every few songs there's a repeated vocal line that just gets stuck in your head and bound to make you shout along long after the song is over, most notably on songs like "Hardly Art" and "Three Halloweens". This LP "slaps", as the kids are saying these days, and though I mention it a lot, I do truly mean this is highly recommended stuff, and I'm happy to have heard it before the year is out. Enjoy.

All This Will Be (2018)

1. -

2. Gift Shop

3. Hardly Art

4. This Year

5. Dust

6. Birdhouse

7. Three Halloweens

8. Rec Room

9. An Athema

Within One Stem (2021)

1. Ruins in Reverse

2. Landslide

3. New Refused

4. Divide

5. Pawning a Laugh

6. Angry Flood

7. 937

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Middle Man Records

Conditions Records

Lauren Records