Wholehearted

Wholehearted might eventually be to Wisconsin hardcore what Modern Life Is War became for Iowa hardcore -- a band that gave a name and place to an obscure Midwest locale. The band’s debut full-length, Reclaim, doesn’t really sound anything like MLIW or is nearly as strong, mind you. But it is quite promising.

Reclaim doesn’t operate at constantly blazing speeds or huge dynamic thrusts, but it is a very decent blend of modern styles with contemporary influences like Blacklisted, Life Long Tragedy and Killing the Dream. There’s a cloudy, muddy coating over the whole record, with the band pulling off enough creative tempo changes and structure touchups to push through it. An oddly upbeat vibe tends to persist, too (“Second Chances”).

“Scared Sorry” actually unravels a bout of frustration in Unbroken-like fashion, though it definitely sounds musically clumsy at times. They exercise further restraint in shuffles like “Pedestals” and the closing title track.

The recording on Reclaim isn’t necessarily terrible, but get these guys in a studio with a Jim Siegel or Kurt Ballou and they could really do some damage.

For now, Wholehearted is a scrappy, apt collective that just needs that extra push.

STREAM
Scared Sorry
I Won’t Forget
Together
Pedestals
Giving Up
My Worst