letlive – Fake History

The post-hardcore/screamo tag wasn’t always a negative one. It used to be applied to bands who displayed an excess of energy that happened to be expressed vocally, e.g. Glassjaw and Will Haven, but now it just seems to be a way to sell albums to alterna-kids du jour. Case in point: letlive. They don’t so much admire Glassjaw than stalk them and ape their every action, resulting in Fake History, an eerily familiar and calculated release.

On technical merits alone, it could be said that it’s a success. The drumming is accomplished, a few interesting riffs lurk in the mire and vocalist Jason Aalon Butler does actually possess a respectable voice. They take the occasional musical gamble, and you’ll even find yourself singing along absent-mindedly once in a while, it’s just that the unsettling sense of déjà-vu completely overwhelms it. Listen to the new Glassjaw EP instead, though even that sounds less like Glassjaw than letlive do. [David Bowes]