Between the Wars

Apparently the sum result of one member of Ensign and one member of Thursday is one of the most promising hardcore acts from New Jersey in recent memory.

Ensign vocalist Tim Shaw and former Thursday guitarist Bill Henderson (Waiting) is apparently a formidable combination, as they team up with a few others in Between the Wars, a refreshing act playing Bane-styled, tempo-varied hardcore punk. Both of the notable members here provide influence from their resumés; Shaw's scratchy yell and the general punk leanings recall the Ensign tag, while Henderson can be found tucking neat post-hardcore riffs that recall his early work into songs like "Mankind Is a Timebomb" and the instrumental "In Darkness."

Between the Wars is a band who manage to cleanly integrate their influences as well, which include 108 and Quicksand. Sure, there's breakdowns, like in "In a Perfect World, You'd Be Dead" and "Slaves and Masters," but they're not heavy for the sake of heavy -- barely at all, in fact, which is actually easy to get behind. Sure, there's metal riffs, like in "Grinding Axes" and "Mankind Is a Timebomb," but hardly necessitating the labelling of a word loathed by many.

Less We Believe is quite solid, but that shouldn't be surprising considering the pedigree. Between the Wars take from a number of genres to write some rousing, creative hardcore punk songs; the eventual full set of them should be a treat, no question.

We'll All Burn

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Slaves and Masters