Review Summary: Believes In Patterns is an eclectic screamo release that utilizes intricate lyrics and excellent vocals throughout.
Friendship is a beautiful thing. Oftentimes it is found in the strangest of places, and oftentimes one particular friendship can eventually become the most bizarre bond formed in your life. As well as being a quaint concept, friendship is arguably one of the most powerful components to our lives. Social status revolves around the quantity and/or quality of friendships one possesses. Oftentimes it is the most resplendent of friendships that get us throughout the most miserable night, or just augments the quality of one's typical eve. Therefore, several friendships that are forged during a lifetime can impact our very character or even the very course of our lives. Because of this, friendship can take us from the very mountains of joy to the pit of despair as fast as it can do the exact opposite.
Believes In Patterns is like a divine friendship however. Starting out as a mere acquaintance, I Would Set Myself On Fire For You's final LP slowly becomes special. Any component of the album that once seemed pointless or unnatural explains itself aptly. Folksy arrangements that once seemed to hinder
Believes In Patterns in terms of fluency eventually become emotional and catchy parts of a song. Americana tidbits aid the music's depth rather than serve as filler. Even jazzy and electric pieces are utilized here. Together, these work harmoniously to create an excellent screamo effort. On “Twelve” a somber composition consisting of viola and piano evolves into a hodgepodge of all the aforementioned styles, never once losing coherency. “Six” also explores several genres while retaining cohesion. The track before it exemplifies the band's improved innovation and creativity by combining elements of numerous styles of music into a jazz-focused song. Other tracks like the indie-flavored “So This Is Our Home” focus themselves on one lone genre rather than making use of juxtaposition. Whatever the case may be, each track adds creativity to this album. From the viola that plays a major part on “Seven” and “Three” to the hand percussion on “#”, it becomes obvious that creativity improves beside instrumental proficiency. Tremolo plucks are numerous; scores of saxophone falls litter the album; even the viola playing has improved. Both eclecticism and technicality come to a head in one of the most instrumentally successful songs on the album, “Seven”. Combining the intensity of tracks like “Nine” with the invention of “Let The Jazz Band In”, this track makes use of climaxes found in post-rock and sweeping guitar dynamics utilized frequently in post-punk. Electric noises dominate tracks like “Nine”, and screamo-oriented pieces are most evident on “Twelve” and “Six”. The musical diversity transfers to the vocal department shown on
Believes In Patterns.
Oftentimes utilizing dramatic rounds,
Believes In Patterns makes use of three vocalists, one of which is the female Lindsey Harbour. Harbour alternates between high pitched shrieks to lulling vocals, a combination best utilized on “Six”. However, the two other male vocalists also contribute singing and unclean vocals to the tracks on I Would Set Myself On Fire For You's second album. The emotional impact of their unclean contributions to said rounds is astonishing, but the singing is not. “Country Song” is ruined by the crackly vocal performance throughout. The damage is so severe that not even the now greatly improved viola skills of Harbour could mend the wound caused by this vocal performance. Similarly, the low-pitched male singing on “So This Is Our Home” pales in comparison to Harbour's soaring croon. The intricate lyrics only provide conviction to the mostly superb vocals that
Believes In Patterns possesses. Therefore, the plethora of hooks do not suffer from immaturity. Rather, lines like, “Tear the land with the shovel, with the spade, with the towel, with the hand, and cache this crown in a mount of wet winter earth” will be stuck in the listener's head for days. The combination of complex lyrics, polystylism, and mounds of perceptible grooves lead to an immensely satisfying album with very few faults. The vocals rarely disappoint. The tracks always have a purpose (with the exclusion of “#”), and the eclectic hodgepodge of genres is not contrived. With time,
Believes In Patterns becomes an excellent release that holds so many excellent qualities. The combination of these qualities is what makes this album such a fulfilling listen that is worth the time spent to unveil its grandeur.
