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Confide

Shout the Truth (2008)
Science

Reviewer Rating:

Contributed by: Jelone
(others by this writer | submit your own)

Published on July 10th 2009

THIS! ALBUM! IS! A! PIECE! OF! SHIT! Hear ye, hear ye, young lads and/or lasses -- if you’re going to write “post-hardcore” songs, either make sure your lyrics don’t blow mega-chunks or check that your vocalist’s scream is so primal and devastating and demonic that it doesn’t matter. Confide frontman Ross Kenyon is stuck in a weird place; he can’t quite sound harsh enough to come off bad-ass, but he can’t really hits notes either, so he’s not much of a singer. My advice: Drop the douche and go instrumental. It’s not like couplets like “Honestly, were you sleeping? / Reach out touch me now” were defining kids’ lives anyway.

The music on Confide’s Shout the Truth is admittedly strong enough. The guitars are alternately gnarly, crunchy and squeal-tastic. And metal fans will dig the copious amounts of double-kick drum. The breakdowns are obnoxiously plentiful. But for all the soaring and shredding moments, nothing feels particularly stirring.

“We’re moving forward, we’re not looking back, and we won’t be stopped. Shout the truth,” claim the liner notes. And maybe that’s Confide’s problem. It’s hard to move forward when you willfully ignore history, and Confide’s sound is atypical of the rut the much-maligned "screamo" genre has been stuck in for the last decade or so. I’m not hearing any progressive musical ideas here, and the truth that’s being shouted is either watered-down melodramatics or cookie-cutter Christian crap. Vague lyrics mean more people can relate, but tracks like “This I Believe” and “The Bigger Picture” don’t drop any insight into religion. Without any compelling reasons to believe, Shout the Truth makes for poor missionary work.

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mpc (July 12, 2009)

After attempting to watch the video Deadpan linked (and I got about as far into it as him/her) I have to say this review was in no way unneccesarily harsh. This shit is awful.

Deadpan (July 10, 2009)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LRKw_eLSko

Listen (or try to at least - I only made it to 1:03 before I had to stop) to that and try and tell me these guys don't deserve an epic cock punch for putting out this cynically awful shitstrummingly horrible gouche rot of an attempt music. Fuck them. I judge them as human beings for making this shit. Good god.

That is, unless that cover was a plan to kill off Ben Gibbard through shame, horror and revulsion so that I may finally cop off with Zooey Deschanel, in which case, good on them.

mikexdude (July 10, 2009)

mikexdude has never fought a bear, but only because he uses words instead.

Brilliant! That is, if you're playing off generic hardcore messages.

That said, it's a good review. I'm just becoming too nice.

Jelone (July 10, 2009)

mikexdude has never fought a bear, but only because he uses words instead.
mikexdude: now with 30% more Magna Carta!
mikexdude took my mother and I out to shop for curtains, and afterwards we had malt shakes.

It's not my most eloquent review. And while I do pride myself on trying to be even-handed about my writing on this site, sometimes my brain goes, "FUCK THIS SHIT SO HARD." This is one of those times. There's not a whole lot going on here that doesn't annoy me.

Also, I like the lead, if only because in my head in takes 20 minutes to shout.

mikexdude (July 10, 2009)

That was harsh BUT in this day and age there is just so much music out there if people are making shitty shit shit they need to be told so. Over and over again until the message is clear and hopefully they stop and make something better. Sometimes there isn't even anything constructive to say so it is best to say the worst thing you can think of.

I may lose reviewing credibility but I dunno if I agree; I guess if this band did go out of their way for an opinion, but I dunno, I feel like blunt insults are fun only in your first 10 review and then it just gets mean.

SloaneDaley (July 10, 2009)

Now I can see why Brian thought it was you who wrote The Higher review haha

That was harsh BUT in this day and age there is just so much music out there if people are making shitty shit shit they need to be told so. Over and over again until the message is clear and hopefully they stop and make something better. Sometimes there isn't even anything constructive to say so it is best to say the worst thing you can think of.

If a band wants they can come to one of my readings and heckle me er some shit.

mikexdude (July 10, 2009)

THIS! ALBUM! IS! A! PIECE! OF! SHIT!

I am a huge hypocrite, but I've gotten better because I am starting to hate putting down people's music. That's pretty harsh.