When Architects said that their new album was going to be ‘different to anything that they’ve done before’ most people’s ears pricked with anticipation at what was to come. ‘The Here and Now’ will be the boys from Brighton fourth studio effort in five years, with each previous album outdoing one another.
Opening track ‘Day in Day Out’ showcases front man Sam Carter’s amalgamation of roars and soaring vocals to score the perfect opening track to what promises to be a perfect album. Following on, ‘Learning to Live’ also contains Carter’s growls mixed with his melodic voice an the fast guitars and drums that accompany him are there to make sure this song will have the masses running into one another and constructing pits at the bands live shows. ‘Delete. Rewind’ will have the listener crashing into more of Carter’s gravelly growls.
Just as you begin to think that the album while yes, is very, very good and may even have you typing Architects into Seetickets.com to see when they’re next touring near your area (catch them supporting Bring Me the Horizon in April/May), it starts to sound slightly samey with track four – ‘BMT’. A good song nonetheless, but you can’t help but think that you may have possibly heard this one before. After the harsh guitars and drums that could possibly lead to a headache if played too loud, Architects take it down a notch with ‘An Open Letter to Myself.’ A beautiful song that draws you in with Carter’s sentimental vocals before, at around 2:06, punching you in the face with one of his powerful screams that take you aback.
The band fasten the pace again with ‘The Blues’ and ‘Red Eyes’, both equally stand out tracks that show the new fashion Architects have taken on board, that will have fans head banging wherever they may be at the time of listening and the gang vocals on The Blues will have people wanting to join in. Stay Young Forever which clocks in at just over three minutes features Comeback Kid’s Andrew Neufeld and hints at the old heavier side of Architects.
Again, the four-piece from Brighton slow it down with ‘Heartburn’, which is a stark contrast to the unforgiving guitars and unruly growls of the previous track. This song doesn’t feature Carter’s gravel like growls like the other tracks, but just his soulful voice. In comparison to the rest of the album, this song could be deemed ‘boring,’ but regardless of that, it’s on par with ‘An Open Letter to Myself’ for its beauty and how well it’s been crafted.
Final track ‘Year in Year Out’ promises to send you into a fist pumping, head banging frenzy. Architects are joined by The Dillinger Escape Plan’s Greg Puciato and his knife-like damage adds bite to the commanding closer that will have you racing to hit the repeat button before the second verse has come around.
“I can’t think of anything I’m more proud of in my life,” front man Sam Carter was quoted saying, and who can blame him? This is Architects at their best. However it cannot be escaped that the album with its new commercial sounding direction will anger some of the older fans with cries of ‘they’re becoming mainstream!’ ‘The Here and Now’ is 40 minutes of satisfying breakdowns that will no doubt draw in new fans and keep a majority of the old fans happy.