Attack In Black – Marriage

It’s funny how awfully wrong you can be when you picture the sound of the band before you’ve heard it. I knew I hated Attack In Black before I heard them – and for no real reason either. Just the fact that every show they played here in Edmonton was with either Alexisonfire or Cancer Bats gave me an immediate idea of what to expect, and I knew I wouldn’t like it and thus had no real intention to ever actually listen to the band. I had just formed a picture of the band’s sound in my head based on who they were touring with… and I couldn’t have been more wrong.

While growing out of the same scene of the screamo/hardcore acts like the aforementioned Alexisonfire and Cancer Bats, Attack In Black have taken a vastly different route to discover their sound and style. Instead of blistering screams and heavy breakdowns, Marriage is a perfect blend of punk, rock and folk making for a much mellower sound but still with an edge to it. All three influences merge together seamlessly with each style shimmering strongly in the mix while working together with the others to forge a sound that is unique and entertaining. With harsh, worn out vocals that remind me of a mix between John K. Samson of The Weakerthans and Jason Shevchuk of None More Black and a musical backdrop that is equal measures of The Weakerthans, Lucero and even sometimes Strike Anywhere (I’m thinking the chorus on Broken Things), Attack In Black is as busy as it is laid back creating a sort of intensity built up through pure simplicity. It is very bare bones at first glance but contains many separate layers the more you listen to it. The sing along chorus on Broken Things, the piano delicately placed in the title track, or the soaring horn section and If All I Thought Were True all work together to create an emotional sound that is built on the basic fundamentals of folk music.

The highlight of the album however is by far the vocal delivery of Daniel Romano. Worn out and tired, the vocals are soft and sung with an emotional edge to them as if he’s wearing his heart on his sleeve. The lyrics effortlessly back up that feeling too as they are powerful and beautiful bits of poetry that are sincere and simultaneously immensely depressing and hopeful as Marriage tells tales of introspection, regrets and self-exploration. Lyrics like “Maybe there’s a footprint I left a life ago / if so, there’s something beautiful / out there, somewhere, I know” from Footprints or “Maybe man is worth the weight of what his eyes have seen / maybe there’s a branch of wonder left here to believe / a man’s as much as the love he leaves / behind in northern towns” from Northern Towns ooze with a sense of questioning and depression but also realization that there’s something else out there worth living for.

Attack In Black‘s Marriage is not at all what I thought it would be, I couldn’t be happier about it. Instead of yet another screamo release, Marriage is a unique combination of folk and punk with a minimalist sound that blows up and soars through the speakers. Highly recommended.