Tracklist:-
1. What Of Us - Landslide
2. What Of Us - Recognize
3. What Of Us - Worker's Compensation
4. What Of Us - Narcissus
5. What Of Us - A Worker Applies Heat
6. What Of Us - Bury My Shell At Wounded Knee
7. What Of Us - Take Notice
8. What Of Us - The End Times
9. Coma Regalia - I've Known People Who Are Dead
10. Coma Regalia - Here I Lend My Ears To The Wind
11. Coma Regalia - Second Semester Death Wheel
12. Coma Regalia - An Invisible Fortune
13. Coma Regalia - It's Always Your Fault When Kitty Dies
14. Coma Regalia - Excerpts Pt.2
15. Coma Regalia - The Killer At Our Door
16. Coma Regalia - The Prince, In Pain
17. Coma Regalia - Innuendo In Our Window
18. Coma Regalia - And The Lifeless Still Breathe
I'm venturing back into my physical review pile this evening. This split LP featuring US punk/emo-violence bands What Of Us and Coma Regalia was released in September 2016 via both Middle-Man Records and Time As A Color Records. What Of Us was born out of Capacities as well as a host of other bands and this is their first appearance on record (if I'm correct). Coma Regalia put out five releases last year, a tape and four splits (including this one), so continuing their ever productive streak.
Something tells me this LP isn’t going to last too long, but then shoehorning eighteen songs by two bands onto one record must be hard. What Of Us kicks things off with blistering emoviolence on Landslide. Screams for days and a backdrop of crazy drumming and guitars loaded with melody sure do set the scene. Their music isn’t all about fast tempos though, as the atmospheric Recognize proves. It’s more akin to violent post-hardcore, which rules. Really it’s all sorts of things. Worker’s Compensation reminds me of all the Japanese screamo bands, energy wise. There’s a heartfelt undercurrent flowing through their music and Narcissus shows that off, with instrumentation that reaches a crescendo thanks to metallic guitar work and some great drumming, before the hardcore vox takes over. There’s so much to like about What Of Us. They hit warp speed on A Worker Applies Heat with exhilarating, grinding chaos. The way they craft their songs to cope with the transitions between mid-paced intros and fast verses is impressive, as on Bury My Shell At Wounded Knee. Penultimate song Take Notice is like the best punk songs after they’ve been sped up tenfold, while The End Times really does mean the end. The end of their side of this split anyway! Coma Regalia seems more pensive than usual on their opener I’ve Known People Who Are Dead Now. That’s probably not a surprise given the title. it’s melody is dreamy and hypnotic though. Here I Lend My Ears To The Wind is brilliant. I probably won’t be given any thanks for comparing it to something off of Too Bad You’re Beautiful” by From Autumn To Ashes (an early 00’s US post-hardcore band), but if you’re familiar their dual screamed/clean vocals then you’ll know what I’m getting at. I love it anyway. From here on in, Coma Regalia gets violent with a string of fast songs. Second Semester Death Wheel banishes any early 00’s post-hardcore hangovers and goes straight for the jugular with raw emotion. This band just gets better and better with every release and I think the material on here is their best personally. An Invisible Fortune is a slightly condensed version of what makes Here I Lend My Ears To The Wind so good. There’s something stark and angry about It’s Always Your Fault When Kitty Dies. The electronic effects on Excerpts Pt.2 sounds like they’re made up of jarring circuit bending, while The Killer At Our Door feels like it’s been stripped back in terms of it’s layers and sound. It’s also the first in a trio of sub one-minute songs that continues with The Prince, In Pain, which does a wonderful job of drowning out the constant door slamming and furniture moving that’s going on in the flat about me! They aren’t shy of clever song-titles either. Innuendo In Our Window could be about any number of things and you’d be forgiven for being curious about it. After a brief pause, they seem to pick up where they left off with And The Lifeless Still Breathe. The quiet/loud dynamics bring a dramatic end to proceedings. This split is a journey of emotions and colours that you don’t get very often. It’s probably not even half-an-hour long but both bands achieve more here than most bands do with records that are twice the length.
You can stream the whole LP here:-
LPs can be purchased from Time As A Color Records here - http://timeasacolor.com/shop/ and Middle-Man Records here - http://middlemanrecords.storenvy.com/, as well as from both bands too. There's also a tape version out.
What Of Us Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/whatofus
Coma Regalia Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/comaregalia
Middle-Man Records Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/middlemanrecords
Time As A Color Records - https://www.facebook.com/timeasacolor
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