Rewind two years and Heights were preparing to release their debut record, the ferocious ‘Dead Ends’, a record that propelled them near to the top of the UK hardcore scene at the first attempt. In the intervening period between that release and this, their second album, however the band has undergone a major line-up change in that former lyricist and vocalist Thomas Debaere has left the band, with former bassist Alex Monty stepping up to the frontman position.
Despite this ‘Old Lies for Young Lives’ in many ways makes perfect sense as a follow-up to ‘Dead Ends’. Musically Heights have matured into a group that seamlessly blends together atmospheric interludes with face-ripping guitar riffs. The one criticism that could really be made of ‘Dead Ends’ was perhaps that occasionally sounded musically forced. In contrast, ‘Old Lies for Young Lives’ consistently sounds assuredly muscular and well-defined in its composition. Some may complain, reasonably enough, that the band is no longer as musically multi-faceted as it was circa ‘The Land, The Ocean, The Distance’ EP a few years ago, but it was clear on ‘Dead Ends’ that Heights’ had deliberately chosen to move away from the post-metal esque sound they offered there into something closer to contemporary hardcore/metalcore. They have further clarified that change direction here.
So, where’s the problem? Well, frankly, it seems to these ears that Heights really miss Debaere on this record. It’s not up to me to delve into the potential reasons behind his departure from the band so if you want to dig the dirt on that I’ll leave it up to you. Unfortunately though it appears that where Heights have developed musically since his exit, they have equally regressed in the lyrical and vocal departments.
Monty is a decent hardcore vocalist, that is true, but in Debaere the band had that rare thing; a hardcore singer whose voice is actually recognisable from the outset of a track. Previously Heights stood out because of Debaere. For all his efforts here Monty doesn’t have quite the same effect, and at times it really does sound like he is trying a bit too hard. More significantly however Debaere had a way with words that Monty and guitarist Dean Richardson, who now write the lyrics as a pair, don’t always have. ‘Dead Ends’ was a fairly angsty release it must be admitted but there were few obviously cringeworthy lines like those that spoil the likes of ‘March 1964’, ‘Widowless’ and ‘Wake Up, Fall Asleep’. The latter is the worst culprit. When Monty clean sings the line “I’m living life with a noose around my neck” you could be forgiven for thinking you’d accidentally stumbled onto the b-side collection of a bad early 2000s emo band.
Now, the lyrics don’t ruin this album, but they do undermine what it has already made clear is its aim; to represent Heights as a band that has grown and matured over the past two years. The problem, of course, with bad lyrics is that they are hugely distracting, and so it is difficult to heap praise upon Heights’ new musical clarity and ignore the glaring cracks in the overall sound created by some poorly chosen words. Furthermore, although the quartet have created a more coherent sound than ever on this release, it isn’t quite interesting enough to overshadow the other problems that have already been identified.
Such issues are exacerbated by the fact that, listening to it again now, ‘Dead Ends’ was a breathtakingly good debut album. It may have had a few faults, but it still stands as one of the best records of its kind of the last decade to these ears. In comparison ‘Old Lies for Young Lives’ really does feel like a step backwards. Despite this, Heights get a pass for now, if only for the searing energy that permeates the best moments of this record. Great improvement will be needed however, for album number three.
‘Old Lies for Young Lives’ is out on 29th April via Transcend Music.
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Despite this ‘Old Lies for Young Lives’ in many ways makes perfect sense as a follow-up to ‘Dead Ends’. Musically Heights have matured into a group that seamlessly blends together atmospheric interludes with face-ripping guitar riffs. The one criticism that could really be made of ‘Dead Ends’ was perhaps that occasionally sounded musically forced. In contrast, ‘Old Lies for Young Lives’ consistently sounds assuredly muscular and well-defined in its composition. Some may complain, reasonably enough, that the band is no longer as musically multi-faceted as it was circa ‘The Land, The Ocean, The Distance’ EP a few years ago, but it was clear on ‘Dead Ends’ that Heights’ had deliberately chosen to move away from the post-metal esque sound they offered there into something closer to contemporary hardcore/metalcore. They have further clarified that change direction here.
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