Weathered Hands – A Warm Life in the Cold

Album Review by Ross Watson | 10 Mar 2014
Album title: A Warm Life in the Cold
Artist: Weathered Hands
Label: In at the Deep End Records
Release date: 10 Mar

Weathered Hands make urgent, post-hardcore infused rock which strives for the anthemic status of early 2000s bands like Funeral for a Friend and A Day to Remember, but there are traces of modern melodic hardcore in the vein of Touché Amoré, especially in their debut record's emotional peaks. Black Light's urgent verses collides with a strong chorus and a satisfying bridge, whereas Everything I Know alternates between clean and rough vocals amid a slew of burning guitars – before everything collapses and rebuilds itself during an emotive finalé.

At their worst, they sound like a faded carbon copy of their peers, but the Hereford-based band keep these moments to a minimum. They've clearly learned to work their influences in more gracefully than before; there's a grand, soaring feel to these songs in spite of their familiarity. The quintet haven't quite carved out a unique identity for themselves just yet, but they make up for their lack of clarity with passion in abundance.

http://soundcloud.com/weathered-hands