Acres will release album The Host on May 2.
It begins with an 80s-style electronic intro for Bloodlust which has an airy almost trance-like feel. It works well with the vocal style before turning into a crushing bass-heavy breakdown and screams before going back to the melodic sound.
Personally I prefer Not so Different. It’s heavier and more like the type of post-hardcore I listen to with brutal drum/bass combos, a catchy BMTH-esque vocal sound in the hook and chorus and a cool lyric in “If I sold my soul then I don’t need anything.”
I love how brutal Built to Bleed is, it really smacks you in the face with a wet fish, standing out, as a groovy bassline and synth weaves its way into the sheer brute force of the rest of the track.
The electronic sound comes back for Steal the Light, and it’s a nice breather after the more intense previous couple of tracks, although it keeps the intensity with some screams peppered throughout.
Although, I don’t know what Acres were thinking with putting Around Again at the end of the album… it’s an absolutely beautiful track, with the best clean vocals of the record and is definitely a hidden gem.
Something I love is the variation in the vocal delivery, from the aforementioned Oli Sykes-style delivery in Not so Different to the Sam Carter of Architects-style cleans in Staring at the Sun, to the absolute brutality you get in Built to Bleed, every track has something different that still works really well.
Acres have a really strong album here!
