Fiddlehead - Death is Nothing to Us
In-Your-Face Emo that doesn't stick around long enough to see if it made you feel anything
Fiddlehead is an indie rock band from Boston with heavy Emo and Post-Hardcore tones. And, technically, they’re a supergroup.12 Death is Nothing to Us is their third full-length effort.
Post-Hardcore is a genre I’m not terribly familiar with - likely because it’s a derivative of Hardcore Punk, and Punk is one of those genres that I can never figure out, musically. I understand, however, that much of the in-your-face intensity in this album comes from that portion of the blend.
Also, the brevity of the tracks. Punk songs are always short, and this album is no exception. With 12 songs, it’s still over in 27 minutes, averaging just over two minutes each. The two longest tracks are “Sullenboy” at 3:20 and “Fifteen to Infinity” at 3:00.
The Emo vibes, though, I’m incredibly familiar with. Fans of Emo will definitely find something to enjoy on this one. I won’t say that they’re “immaculate”, but they aren’t bad.
This album really has two distinct weaknesses for me:
First, the aforementioned brevity. Three songs come in at less than a minute-and-a-half, and they’re nearly all less than three minutes. That’s the point where I will find myself starting to settle into a song, then it’s suddenly over; OR I get distracted and don’t realize that I’ve missed three songs.
Second, the repetition. It doesn’t often venture into ‘overkill’ territory, but when every already-short track is repetitive, it really reveals a weakness in songwriting. You shouldn’t inflate a song’s length with repetition; and if you don’t have enough to say to fill a TWO MINUTE SONG without repeating the same 1-2 lines for 1/4 of it, then that song isn’t worth writing. Full stop.
With that said, the music is solid. It’s really enjoyable and kinda boppy. Even with the cardinal sins counting against it. Unfortunately, I’m grading albums, and this one, on the whole, is a bit lackluster.
Rating: Yellow
For those unfamiliar with the term, ‘Supergroups’ are bands whose members were already active in another band. Kind of like a musical all-star team. Sometimes the supergroup ends up becoming a mainstay act. High profile supergroups include: Cream, Blind Faith, Led Zeppelin, ABBA, The Highwaymen, Foo Fighters, Audioslave, Amaranthe, and Run the Jewels.
Fiddlehead’s members were already active in: Have Heart, Basement, Big Contest, Stand Off, and Nuclear Age. Some were still active, others had already disbanded.