The Heartsounds – Drifter

The title of opening song, “Every Second Counts,” on Heartsounds’ anticipated sophomore effort Drifter also doubles as a mission statement.  The San Francisco melodic punk act crams the album’s eleven tracks full of blistering skate speed, metal-tinged complexity, and silky rhythm. Ben Murray and Laura Nichol reprise their fronting duties in an effort to live up to their head-turning Epitaph Records debut, Until We Surrender.  The band doesn’t stray far from what they know, but thanks to some key new elements, Heartsounds hold their ground.

First off, the inclusion of Bassist Kyle Camarillo and drummer Trey Derbes formally fleshes out the band’s rhythm section.  While Until We Surrender was undeniably coherent, the ensemble just sounds tighter – each instrument fully in its element, played with focus and drive.  Additionally, the new members chime in regularly with backing harmonies, at times aligning Heartsounds with labelmates Bad Religion more than their typical Strung Out likeness.  A key point plays out during “You Are Not Your Body” when a chorus of voices synchronizes and cushions Nichol on a bed of drawn out “ooohs.”  But rest assured,Heartsounds have not divorced their classic allegiances, in fact Strung Out frontman Jason Cruz lends his distinct buzz saw vocals during the tail end of “Elements.”

Furthermore, the group still knows how to shred with the best of them.  Impressively, amidst all that melody Heartsounds can still hold their ground against technical powerhouses like A Wilhelm Scream andPropagandhi.  Where some bands might settle to catch their breath between bars, Heartsounds rock out like every moment is their last.  Just take the mind-bending solo ushering in “Face To The Bottom” and you can tell that Murray and Nichol never really abandoned their previous metal outfit, Light This City.  But as with everything throughout the disc, their ambitions never eclipse their guiding, approachable melodic light.

Of course there are many other reasons worth jumping on board Drifter.  For instance, the charming little acoustic outro on “Everything’s Going My Way” showcases the band’s tasteful finesse, and “Echo” takes the distinction of the token “slow song” in stride, coming across reminiscent of the Rise Against song “Approaching The Curve,” complete with periodic spoken word narration.

Drifter only raises one aspect for hesitancy when compared with Until We Surrender.  I can’t help but feel that the band has lost a degree of that dueling nature defining Nichols and Murray’s vocal symbiosis.  It’s not that they don’t harmonize and trade role’s as before, but that they tend to stake separate claims to segments or songs rather than bouncing back and forth so readily.  Still, the relationship holds strong, achieving its best balance in the slightly-poppy “Don’t Talk With Your Mouth Open,” as Nichol and Murray prove that they can live up to the high bar set by the male-female punk duos of today as per Lemuriaand Candy Hearts – except without the cutesy fluff; in that regard Nichol rides with the boys.

Overall, Drifter continues the quality output originally responsible for luring in the bigwigs at Epitaph.  Without question, Heartsounds has made good on its label’s agenda of positioning the band as front-runners for the contemporary return of melodic punk rock.  But more importantly, Drifter is simply a great sophomore effort that keeps listeners like myself excited to see what Heartsounds can offer next.  A no-brainer for fans of 90’s melodic punk rock.