Title: Negative Space
Format Reviewed: MP3
Format Release: 7th January 2014
Reviewed By: James Reeve
Having been a fan of the likes of Deftones and Circa Survive, I was looking forward to the chance to listen to the debut EP by New Jersey rockers A Balance Between. And let me tell you, I was not disappointed. From the 20 second feedback of opener Your Own Hell, to the fade-out riff of title track Negative Space, you can see that the progressive/post-hardcore quintet are definitely setting off in the right direction.
Opening track on the debut is Your Own Hell. With a mixture of what I can only describe as 'blazing' riffs, cymbal destruction and Jeremy Hernandez's incredible voice, it's definitely one to get you jumping about with your fists in the air. With such a hard-hitting Deftones style, it's not difficult to imagine this song as a perfect opener for a live performance with a crowd chanting along to the lyrics "give me a reason."
The following songs Stale Hearts Sway and Reaching Out are fairly decent, and they start to give you a feel of what this debut record is going to show. The stand-out track though in this is clearly The Ruse. From the moment “all this time” is shouted out, you can feel yourself listening to every word that Jeremy has to say. Joined up with impressive axe work of Brian and Mike, as well as Rob’s bass drumming, it’s easy to see why this will be a fan favourite.
The only issue I started to hear throughout this EP though is the similarity shown in each track. Although it's generally considered a negative point the majority of the time, I feel that the band pulls it off. As well as being a couple of tracks longer than your generic EP, they have created something pretty damn good to the genre in this release. Thankfully though, a bit of variety is shown in the title song (and finale) Negative Space.
Throughout this song you’ll hear a remarkable resemblance to that of Jimmy Eat World. Slow, melodic verses, sing-along choruses, and an ending to which you feel yourself screaming out "Stay" along with Jeremy Hernandez, you can clearly understand why this the title track.
Although it doesn't have a great deal of variety, I still would recommend this to any fan of the post-hardcore genre. If the band can add a little bit more variety throughout their songs, then I expect their debut album to be definitive of the genre. I can see a lot of good coming from these guys in the near future, and considering not many bands like this come around often, I'm glad to see that this one has.
Negative Space is out now.
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