We Were Skeletons – We Were Skeletons

Since I’m 4500 miles away from the DIY scene of Lancaster and We Were Skeletons, I’m not ashamed that the first thing I heard from these guys was their second LP – however their debut album must have been pretty refreshing after the hiatus of Hot Cross: that screamo/punk was driven by tricky guitar chords and was less clear-out than the first Fall of Troy album, but still had an amazing atmosphere created by the playful riffs and the chaotic shouting. Their sophomore record was released by Topshelf Records, and as I drew a parallel with FoT, I can say that it succeeded to be their Doppelgänger. It isn’t too clear-out to feel overburnished or moodless, but they managed to write much more memorable melodies (+50 alliteration points for me), and create a more listener-friendly world of chords by evoking the sound of early Hot Cross from time to time. The guys have a sky high RPM rate, Rafael and Justin don’t even allow themselves a single clean line, the band’s picks and sticks rest only for a few amazing slower moments but they always return to that loveable chaos which they call home. It’s a pleasant surprise that the two longest songs are the best ones, Kids and This Destroys Us remind me of a raw, more hardcore Kidcrash, who are pretty much the only ones who can make a five minute long screamo song enjoyable without post-rock components. Probably if WWS had used a little bit of clean vocals, it would have supplied the few lacking colors of their palette, because it is really a teeny-tiny bit that divides them from becoming the new Hot Cross (based on the song titles they feel perfect this way, and if the listeners think so, then my last comment is nothing but hair-splitting in Rafael’s beard). 8/10

(this is an outtake and translation from this review)