A Room Swept White - No Love Lost EP

Melodic hardcore just keeps on growing. Our European cousins are taking the genre by the horns at the moment and really making themselves heard. Thankfully, the Brits are doing their bit too. With bands like Architects and Bring Me The Horizon clearing the way of late, bands like A Room Swept White are starting to get noticed. Today is a big day for the band, as they have just released their second EP, No Love Lost. Having been a band since 2011, they've hit stages with fellow Brits Palm Reader and Feed The Rhino amongst others and completed a UK tour in November of last year.

Tracklist:-

1. Recollection
2. This Life
3. No Love Lost
4. Time Heals
5. Better Days

No Love Lost begins with the short intro song Recollection. Clean vocals sit within the spare instrumentation before you’re led into This Life, which has exhilarating drumming at it’s core. Talking of core, the vocals are pure, raging screams. A Room Swept White don’t rely on breakdowns, instead taking a (good)emo-inspired approach to their guitar textures. The introspective passage mid-way through follows the expansive nature of Recollection and there’s still time in the song for the band to add in some off-kilter riffs. It’s got everything so far, but doesn’t sound cluttered.

The title-track is heavier and features stop/start textures that accentuate those moments. It’s great though to hear a melodic hardcore band actually pay proper attention to melody, instead of it being an afterthought. Unwittingly, it seems as though A Room Swept White are dragging their chosen genre back in time. Back to the time when bands like Funeral For A Friend introduce us to Casually Dressed And Deep In Conversation. Back to when it meant something. Time Heals reminds me of Stretch Arm Strong for some reason. People reading this may think i’m in the wrong ball park with these comparisons, but there’s an energy on No Love Lost that is hard to ignore. Closing piece Better Days tugs at the heartstrings with thoughtful musicianship and raw, emotive screams. 

No Love Lost is quite an astounding EP in terms of its quality. I don’t mean that lightly either. I could have been accused of being a bit indifferent when it comes to young melodic hardcore/metalcore bands lately, but A Room Swept White have injected some life back into me. This EP is definitely for the time when you need a lift and to be reminded that it’s really okay. Brilliant job by a band that more people will be hearing this year.

The whole EP is currently streaming on the Dead Press website here - http://www.deadpress.co.uk/45212/audio-a-room-swept-white-no-love-lost-ep

The EP is available now in iTunes here - https://itun.es/gb/36fa2.

A Room Swept White Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ARoomSweptWhite