Basement - Promise Everything

When it comes to bands splitting up but quickly reconvening just a few years later, it’s easy to raise an eyebrow and take the cynical stance. Back when Basement bowed out after the release of their 2012 album ‘Colourmeinkindness’ – and a lengthy farewell tour on both side of the Atlantic, to boot - however, it felt like a genuine loss.

A staple of UK post-hardcore circles, their return’s since been welcomed with open arms and their newest full-length ‘Promise Everything’ epitomises all of the reasons fans were so eager for their hiatus to end. Pre-empted by their returning EP, ‘Further Sky’, their newest full-length sees them grow even more confident in treading the fine line between melody and aggression that can be so much of a challenge within the genre.

From the gentle sway of ‘Oversized’ to the gorgeous, melody-filled ‘Aquasun’ – which sees the band channelling the grandness of Deftones - ‘Promise Everything’ seems to be the band’s moment of clarity. The soaring opener of ‘Brothers Keeper’ sees them tread into the melodic territory that their previous album hinted at, while the brooding closer of ‘Halo’ offers an intense conclusion to their newest lease of life. There’s a sense of delicacy to their tracks which marries brilliantly with their more driven moments – the chugging introduction of ‘Submission’ and the squealing feedback hidden within ‘For You The Moon’ – and results in a record that feels cathartic but never ruthless, freeing but still subtle.