Since By Man - Pictures Of The Hotel Apocalypse

  by Andy Vincent

published: 22 / 12 / 2005

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The second full length release from the Revelation's label Since by Man proves to be a progression in style. The band have followed up upon everything that made their first release (2003's 'We Sing the Body Electric') brilliant, creating what I would define as Noise-punk, whilst still utilising the melodies of a lot of hardcore bands- Imagine Amen and Refused jamming with Circle Takes the Square and you'll get a rough idea of what I'm talking about. 'Pictures from the Hotel Apocalypse' pulls you along by the hair, creating a soundscape that one minute will make you feel quite relaxed, before turning into quite a violent monster of a record. Opener 'Emergency and Me' holds clear relations with both modern and earlier hardcore influences and this is something that the band continue to build upon throughout the record. Since by Man deconstruct their music with a really subtle style. They have not made something that has never been created before but they're one of a rare breed of band that have made something you can listen to if you like a specific genre, but at least feel there is something there as well inexplicably different from the rest of the crop. In a similar way to Seattle's Vaux, they push all defined boundaries, maintaining a wide amount of variation, whilst still keeping it intrinsically linked. Standout tracks include 'Young America' with its brutal hardcore sound, and catchy as hell chorus (not 'pop' catchy, just head nodding and shouting...) which is crossed with a slightly twisted styling more often seen with bands such as the Locust and the Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower. 'Quid Pro Quo Motherf***ker' has a slightly more groovy, but still twisted style, and slows the pace of the record down. It is the sort of song that if a non-fan listened to live, he or she wouldn't be able to understand why a crowd would be able to get off on it quite as much as it had done. A similar thing could be said about the album closer 'Photographer Ex-ost facto" which has a slow moving, gently evolving musical landscape with haunting female vocals. Then suddenly it drops the expected, screaming chugging, brutal hardcore and meandering solos and then, just as quickly as it came, it fades away to the haunting woman again... a perfect ending for an album which, although it will not rocket the band to super stardom, is no less accomplished than that of any of their peers, and will hopefully help in giving them the recognition that they deserve.

Track Listing:-

1 Emergency And Me
2 Lactating Teens
3 Young America
4 Insider Lines
5 Match On Action
6 Binary Heart Attack
7 Quid Pro Quo Motherfucker
8 The Neon Wilderness
9 Invocation
10 Photographer Ex Post Facto

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