Courageously growing

Villain of the War - "Oxen"
Label: DIY

I really liked VILLAIN OF THE WAR's "Damn, that's crazy" from last year. It was a cool and fun and catchy EP, blending Post-Hardcore, New Wave-Emo and Pop-Punk. Now, the band out of Boston, Mass is back with their debut album "Oxen". And honestly, I couldn't connect to it at first glance...

It's not quite as crazy and hook-y as the EP. They matured a lot and went for a more defined and artistic approach this time around, straying away from some Emo- and Pop-Punk-elements in favor of some Alt-Rock-elements and quite symphonic moments here and there. The melodies, harmonies and arrangements they use are quite unusal at times, but at the same time really worked out and fresh. It's still lots of that good 'ol Post-Hardcore formula, where the harsh clashes with the soft, the up- with the downbeat and the clean vocals with the screams. Speaking of that, singer Jacob comes into his own on "Oxen". He sounds fantastic (I love the rasp in his voice) and might just be one of the best when it comes to this seemingly transition from singing to screaming. That reminds me of SILENT DRIVE's Zach Jordan sometimes. Also, musically they're not too far away, along with bands like FINCH (think "Say Hello to Sunshine"), FAR or &U&I.

Production-wise, "Oxen" is a huge leap forward for VILLAIN OF THE WAR. "Damn, that's crazy" didn't sound bad, but had its weaknesses from an objective standpoint. "Oxen" is more well-rounded overall, without sounding all too clean. One of -if not the biggest- upside of this band is pretty much the same as before: Their distinctive and creative songwriting. Eventhough "Oxen" is quite coherent, the songs still differ a lot from another. VOTW come up with something new every once in a while, keeping the record fresh from start to finish. And, yeah, damn... overall most of the songs hit home, with no dud to be found anywhere.

So while it took a few spins for me to get into the "new" VILLAIN OF THE WAR, I really dig their evolution. On one hand they remind me of the glorious days of 2000s Post-Hardcore, with that blend of "catchy vs. destructive", on the other hand they manage to make their own thing with all the unconventionally musicianship and songwriting. "Oxen" turned out to be a fantastic album, that proves how musically prone these four gentlemen are. 

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