‘What’s Left Of Me’ represents take two for More Than Life, who have refined the sound that made them underground darlings following the release of their debut, ‘Love Let Me Go’.
Across nine songs they have remodelled the melodic hardcore of their opening statement, sanding down some of the more metallic edges and letting clean guitar hooks have some room to make themselves known.
“Keep taking forward steps,” James Matthews yells on the title track, but it’s not an empty sentiment. He’s on thoughtful form here, his words often stacked in layers and delivered with a yelp that recalls Gorilla Biscuits’ Anthony "Civ" Civarelli as much as his contemporaries.
What More Than Life have managed is to expand their sound without abandoning any of its directness. As the title track dips into spoken word for a moment the band rallies around Matthews, turning his pleas into a driving, anthemic conclusion.
Likewise Weight Of The World, which possesses a massive chorus and shifting dynamics, or Do You Remember, which takes its cues from Brand New and Touché Amoré, its barked backing vocals echoing Jeremy Bolm’s more stripped back contributions to ‘Is Survived By’ last summer.
It’s quite clear that More Than Life possess a level of control beyond many bands, and there are sections of ‘What’s Left Of Me’ that are perfectly poised. It’s economical in its delivery, progressive and absolutely worth getting to know.
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