Review Summary: Is it generic? Yes. Is it fun? Yes.
With the massive influx of electronica/crunkcore/post-hardcore bands nowadays flooding the music masses, it’s hard to find a band that really manages to stand out from this crowd. Colorado electronic-post-hardcore (whatever genre) band Breathe Carolina’s newest album,
Hell Is What You Make It, doesn’t exactly separate the band in anyway from the masses, but there is no denying it is catchy.
Mashing together auto-tuned singing, plenty of vocal effects, screams, keyboards galore, along with some standard instrumentation, Breathe Carolina provides an interesting listen. The albums singles, "Wooly" and "Blackout", as well as track four, "Edge of Heaven" truly showcase the band’s style. Wooly features some bouncy beats, solid screams, and a nice tempo, "Blackout" feels like a radio-friendly affair with its simple lyrics and simple styling’s, and "Edge of Heaven" is pretty much a ballad (if you can truly call it that). These three songs exemplify what
Hell Is What You Make It consists of during its thirteen track run.
The biggest draw of bands in this style isn’t usually the instrumentation, instead bands like Breathe Carolina draw the listener in with catchy beats and easily sung lyrics, and
Hell Is What You Make It doesn’t disappoint in this aspect. Those looking for truly groundbreaking music might want to look elsewhere, but Breathe Carolina does manage to provide the fun factor, which makes this album at least worth a passing glance.
Hell Is What You Make It may not be an album for the hardcore electronica or post-hardcore fan, but for casual listeners who are dabbling or just getting started in the style it may make for a nice introduction. It’s not the most original album ever released, but there is no denying that Breathe Carolina has something good going for them.
