UK hardcore band, Blood Youth, released their album titled Beyond Repair as they make their debut into full-length records.
“Making Waves” does exactly what it says it does – makes waves. The altering between clean and unclean vocals makes the song sound like it’s made of waves in a very cool way. I love the intro to “What I’m Running From,” but feel it lasts a bit too long before the song continues. I also love the last 45 seconds, from the build up of drums to the guitars that provide a killer, riff-y background melody. “Oh god I’m just a parasite,” starts self-critical “Parasite,” as it later adds “This is the year of self destruction / So sick of being just another burden.” The song opens and continues through the song to have a negative self-image, but ends on the repeating line “I won’t let this get the best of me,” signifying progress and development within the song itself, which I love. I love the idea of a song ending at a point that differs from its starting point, much like this. The next song, “I Remember,” reads like the thoughts of a teenager struggling to make sense of the world. Maybe the song and writing was meant to be like that, in a nostalgic way, as the writer talks about “When we were younger / Could be anything,” but lines such as “Building myself back up / But I don’t give a fuck / So I don’t give a fuck” make me feel like the song wasn’t pushed to the best of the lyricist’s abilities. On the contrary, “I’ve never felt this low before / but the world outside holds so much more” from the next song, “Reasons to Stay,” is one of my favorite lyrics from the record. I like the placement of this song directly after “I Remember,” because it feels like growth. From blaming the world in “I Remember,” “Reasons to Stay” apologises and takes the blame. Penultimate song, “Bless,” has a killer bridge with great guitar work following it. “Man Made Disaster” closes the record with a great, slightly eerie yet relaxing, over minute long outro that feels like a great close to any album. As a whole, this record wasn’t anything too special and lacked in variance in song speed, but it definitely had its high points, namely progression in its songs and great outros.
Overall: Nothing brand new, and the writing can sometimes waver in quality, Beyond Repair is a take it or leave it album. You can get a pretty good feel for the whole album by listening to any song on it.
6.5/10
Review by Shane Haley
Crown Times Music 