Dearest – Discovery

“Thanks for everything, I will never lie to myself again” ~ ‘Eleven’

I like feeling confused by the music I listen to, I like the thought that I couldn’t or wouldn’t have recorded, played or sang what I’m hearing that very same way. I’m already bored of the same bands, playing the same tunes, no matter how awesome musicians they may be. Few months ago in Herrenberg, Germany I had the chance to experience live Dearest for a first time. They seemed like a new band, they weren’t all over the stage as the flashy hardcore bands, they weren’t polished and perfect, but more introvert I’d say. But still there was something captivating there. Right after the show we talked a lot and it seemed as we shared a lot of concepts and ideas about music.

Now, some two months later their first record is out. I approached it carefully as I was scared the studio work may have stolen that primal and intimate feeling the band was able to transmitted back on that small stage. Thankfully not only it hadn’t, but it almost completely preserved it. I was also afraid their sound may come out as something already recorded and reminiscent of other bands. Okay, if you have been around the hardcore punk scene lately you’d certainly catch up some influences from La Dispute in the clean guitars, extensive and narrative lyrics-writing and eclectic rhythm sections. But there’s a lot more, that is solely the result of Dearest’s personal approach to emotional hardcore. This dominates in the record and makes of Discovery a really intimate collection of music, with lots of creativity poured in it. It’s rough, in the sense of being untouched by serving any other purpose than expressing the desires and ideas of its creators. It’s a record written as a diary, to commemorate and remind what the guys at Dearest felt and were at this specific moment.

Just go and DISCOVER it yourself. It’s currently only available for streaming, but on September 11 Shivery will put it out on a physical carrier, so put aside some cash.