The wait is over, as Alexisonfire, the Canadian Post-Hardcore legends are back after 13 years with their newest release Otherness. The question in many fans’ minds will be though, does this album come close to the albums of our teenage years and spoiler alert, it does.
Within the opening tracks Committed To The Con and Sweet Dreams of Otherness, fans are treated to an utterly exceptional album opening with enough of the classic sound to be familiar while bringing in elements of Punk and Stoner Rock to create this truly fresh take on Post-Hardcore.
Sans Soleil is another excellent example of the band’s growth as musicians thanks to the track’s masterful use of atmosphere to create an ethereal experience often not found within the band’s genre peers, alongside a beautiful clean vocal performance that carries the track with ease when blended with the truly jaw dropping instrumentals within.
This experimentation with the foundations of what the band built in the mid-2000s doesn’t stop within the first three tracks though. Conditional Love falls fully into the Stoner Rock camp with it’s heavy focus on tight rhythm and infectious riffs, Blue Spade blends Post-Hardcore with the ’70s & 80’s Doom and it was at this moment I placed my vinyl Pre-Order.
I don’t want to spoil any of the surprises within this release, as it’s utterly phenomenal. Every aspect of this release has been constructed with such obvious love, passion and talent, from start to finish I found myself truly lost to the sounds coming through my headphones. Otherness is a masterclass in every single regard and I’ll be amazed if a better album is released this year. What a work of art.
Otherness arrives June 24th Courtesy of Dine Alone Records
Review: Dan Stapleton
| 1 | Committed To The Con | Preview |
| 2 | Sweet Dreams Of Otherness | Preview |
| 3 | Sans Soleil | Preview |
| 4 | Conditional Love | Preview |
| 5 | Blue Spade | Preview |
| 6 | Dark Night Of The Soul | Preview |
| 7 | Mistaken Information | Preview |
| 8 | Survivor’s Guilt | Preview |
| 9 | Reverse The Curse | Preview |
| 10 | World Stops Turning |
Otherness Physical Album Variants:
· AOF Exclusive 3000 (TRANSLUCENT TAN W/ ORCHID & MAGENTA PINWHEEL)
· Dine Alone Exclusive 200 (TRANSLUCENT TAN W/ ORCHID, BONE & GOLD SPLATTER)
· D2C Exclusive Deluxe 2500 (MILKY CLEAR W/ BLACK & ORCHID COLOUR IN COLOUR w/ Lenticular Alternate cover art)
· Indie Retail Exclusive 3000 (NEON PURPLE & MAGENTA)
· Standard (BLACK)
· Revolver Exclusive 500 (METALLIC GOLD)
· Newbury Exclusive 500 (OPAQUE GRAPE W/ GOLD, CHERRY & BLACK SPLATTER)
· HMV UK Exclusive 500 (TRANSLUCENT SOFT PINK W/ BLACK, CHERRY & GRAPE SPLATTER)
· JB Hifi Exclusive 500 (PINK & AQUA GALAXY VINYL)
· CD
· Cassette
Pre-order at:
Digital + physical – http://alexisonfirestream.com/AOFOtherness
Physical only – http://alexisonfirestream.com/Othernessvinyl