Album Review: Sun Heights - 'The War'

Brisbane's Sun Heights have been working hard to create a bit of a name for themselves in the lead up to their debut full length 'The War.' Some singles, some impressive support slots, all of which has helped shaped their sound and prepare them to tackle the tricky task of standing out in the giant pool of melodic hardcore bands.

Interestingly, opening track 1989 shows off a keen sense of melody, despite the fact that the main note of the opening is just feedback, but even upon the arrival of crashing drums and grated screams, the guitar lines maintain a simple but catchy tune.

The simplicity of the band's music could be panned, as could the lack of tonal variety in the sound, however in this case, the first point, simplicity, seems like more of a strength. Our Darkest Moments thunders along, an extension of the track before it but with a little more energy, the guitar line continues in a similar vein, it's either clever of lazy, let's give them the benefit of the doubt considering how well this flows however.

Things get a little bit thrashy on Lies From The Past before slowing down from some spacious and ambient guitar lines in Snow, coupled with room sounding screams and pounding drums. The vocals never seem to change their pace or style which can become a bit grating throughout the record but the instrumentation more than makes up for this. The guitar work and drum lines are the standouts of this record, they provide the energy and melody and are usually the most interesting parts of the tracks, you will find yourself being guided by the guitar patterns as you tune out of the vocals.

The record closes with a little bit of chaos, the hard hitting Last Words which is a wall of sound assault from the word go, and the more refined, post-rock sounding title track that closes things off with a relentless rhythm.

Sun Heights have some elements to their sound that make them an interesting act, it's not quite there yet, they aren't quite above the pack on their debut, but there is certain potential and it will be interesting to see how they use it moving forward.

1. 1989

2. Our Darkest Moments

3. Can't Change 

4. Lies From The Past

5. Snow

6. Loser

7. Come Back To Life

8. Seperation

9. Last Words

10. The War