Review Summary: The cowboys are dancing.
Back in 2019, coming hot off the heels of their debut LP
The Correlation Between Entrance and Exit Wounds, lead vocalist Connie Sgarbossa spoke of the bands shift in genre;
"We made our point, and now we're moving on. No more sasscore, we're a metalcore band now". SeeYouSpaceCowboy have been steadily evolving with each release ever since their first demo, and I wonder if Connie would rescind that statement if she were to repeat the same interview today, as this new album is arguably more sassy and less metal than they have sounded in a long time. Thus is the beauty and paradox of the SYSC experience; always changing, yet always sure. No matter what new territory they explore, the band executes their ideas with the searing confidence of a teenager with a new lip piercing.
Coup De Grâce is more of a complex tear down and rework of the bands sound than it is a direct step forward. Bits and pieces of their previous recordings have been ripped apart at the seams and sewn back together like Frankenstein in a corset. I swear it's not as ugly as it seems. Sure, metallic riffs and panic chord breakdowns are still present, but they are interwoven with elements of dance punk and indie rock that keep things feeling suspiciously lighthearted. There is much more emphasis on melody as a vessel for the totality of each song this time around, to the point where I was actually surprised to hear Connie take the back seat on some of these songs to really give the floor to Taylor's clean singing. Instead of haphazardly injecting pop choruses into mathcore songs, the band have flipped the formula on it's head, and now breakdowns almost feel like an afterthought. In fact, if I have one gripe with this album, it's that the band often sounds like they are on the fence; keeping one foot in the moshers yard while clearly gazing toward more playful pastures. The ending of "To The Dance Floor For Shelter" is one of the few moments on the album where the breakdown actually felt necessary following Courtney LaPlante's emotionally potent vocal feature. This is not to say that the heavier moments on this album don't
work, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the band pushing themselves even further away from the metal influence in the future.
There is something so thematically alluring about this record, whether it's Connie's lyrics - dancing with themes of intimacy at the after party - or the hazy jazz club pieces where singer iRis.EXE sets the stage for a tragic night of massacre at the cabaret. It's very clear that the band wanted to craft a story and convey a very specific vibe on this record, and they nailed it. There is blood on the dance floor, and we are all caught in the crossfire. The influence derived from Panic! At The Disco's
A Fever You Can't Sweat Out is especially apparent here, both in the lyrical approach and the undercurrents of sugar coated emo-pop energy. There's even a point in the chorus of "Sister With A Gun" where the vocal melody is a clear nod to "Lying Is The Most Fun...". It's a mixture that is quite unique, and I think working with producer Matt Squire is exactly what the band needed to push themselves out of their comfort zone and execute their vision on a much larger scale without feeling awkward or disjointed.
A coup de grâce is a mercy killing - a death blow to end the suffering of a severely wounded person or animal. It's a dark thought for an album that is sonically so lustrous and full of life, but therein lies the magic of the record. It's a fun, imaginative post hardcore album wrapped in a cloth of cinematic tragedy, ready to welcome you in with a warm embrace, and a knife in the back.
