Album Review: Hundredth - 'Resist'

Last year, this American melodic hardcore quintet put out a little EP called 'Revolt'. It contained an angrier and more punk inspired sound to Hundredth. Of course, a five track, fifteen minute long extended play can't really contend with the band's brilliant sophomore album, 'Let Go'. Nevertheless, the group is back again with another EP, which this time is thankfully a huge step up from its predecessor.

At just under twenty minutes long, 'Resist' is probably going to be the best EP of 2014, and rightfully so with just its first two songs. 'Wake' is a thirty second, solemn guitar intro. The sparse playing and soft chords leave you on edge right until the band come full swinging with 'Shelter'.

'Shelter' is a super charged hardcore anthem. It's a fantastic song and by far the best track off the EP. This is proof that Hundredth won't lie down easily. It's a song full of personal conviction and whole-hearted determination, not just in its lyrics but also in its rhythmic pacing and its overall execution as well.

The title-track is another chaotic number to add to the band's ever growing list of abrasive songs. Similar to 'Free Mind/Open Spirit', this features a more revolutionary theme (hence the name) and its rebellious chorus is just deafening, and it never once feels like an "Us Vs Them" cliché. Hopefully this becomes a staple of Hunderedth's live set for years to come as it's just that good.

'Demons' feels like an older song from the days of debut album, 'When Will We Surrender', with its darker, more aggressive timbre. It's dark, it's loud and it's cathartic and even though the band takes their time with it, it never becomes monotonous. Furthermore, the post-rock sounding guitar melodies just before the last chorus hit so hard and add a nice melodic touch to the song. Coupled with vocalist Chadwick Johnston's crushingly loud shouts, it's almost impossible not to fall in love with this song.

'Manifest' feels like the long lost cousin to last few songs from 'Let Go'. Its shifting dynamics and seemingly subtle crescendoing structure lead it to a grand climax, one that satisfies long enough before slowly fading out. Fade outs are a hard thing to get right within the context of certain songs, but here it works nicely.

The political and philosophically inspired sample speech in 'Wage' - which is backed by a tight, melodic, and snow-balling arrangement - closes out 'Resist' just as solemnly and as subtly as it first began. While there is no bad song here, in fact, all of these songs are excellent in ever way, they are however, simply filling time until the unconfirmed-and-probably-not-happening-for-a-while third LP comes out.

Much like 2013's 'Revolt', this new EP is a hard hitting, punchy hardcore release, but it's been infused with a bit more melody this time round. With 'Resist', it's blatantly apparent to see why Hundredth are so highly revered by scene newcomers, their fans and peers alike. This will do nicely to fill in time until the band's next full-length album comes along. Which hopefully, will be really fucking soon!

1. Wake
2. Shelter
3. Resist
4. Demons
5. Manifest
6. Wage