Breakup records usually announce themselves with a band. There is betrayal, shouting, and doors slamming shut. Finis Amoris Est, the new EP from UK post-hardcore outfit Pageant Mum, takes a different route. It’s a record about what happens after the blowup, when the noise dies down and you’re left alone with the quieter, harder questions. Across these four tracks, the band traces the slow emotional erosion of a relationship that refuses to end cleanly. They document not just the rupture but the uneasy stillness that follows.
The EP opens with the track “Hackles Up,” and while it’s the most confrontational moment here, even its aggression feels measured. The guitars snap and grind, the drums push forward with urgency, and the vocals sound fully aware of the mess they’re standing in. This isn’t blind rage but the tension of knowing exactly what’s wrong and still being unable to walk away. That self-awareness gives the track its bite. Despite the subject matter, the catchiness of this track can’t be overstated.
“Lick It Off Knives” escalates that volatility, leaning harder into momentum and emotional spiraling. There’s a pop-punk immediacy to the hooks, but it’s framed by post-hardcore grit rather than polish. The song captures the impulse to turn everything up whether it’s the volume, speed, or the feeling. Anything to avoid sitting with discomfort underneath. It’s the EP’s most kinetic moment, but it still feels rooted rather than explosive.
Halfway through the EP it pivots inward. “Prelapsarian” marks the shift, pulling back on pace and letting space do more of the work. The edges soften, the urgency fractures, and reflection starts to replace confrontation. It’s here that the EP’s emotional arc really takes shape. Pageant Mum understands that restraint can be heavier than volume, and this track proves it.
The closing track titled “The War of Me and You” sits at the record’s emotional core. Slower, more deliberate, and deeply introspective, it reframes the breakup not as a battle between two people but as an internal reckoning. The contrast between male and female lead vocals adds weight to that dual perspective, reinforcing the sense of inevitability rather than blame. It’s not cathartic and that’s the point. The song resolves in acceptance, not relief.
Sonically, the EP strikes a careful balance. High energy guitars and driving drums are offset by moments of melancholy and space, allowing tension and sadness to coexist without tipping into melodrama. This is post-hardcore that understands dynamics by knowing when to press and when to pull back. The production keeps everything grounded, giving the songs room to breathe without diluting their emotional impact. Fans of Fugazi, early Unwound, and modern grunge leaning post hardcore will love this EP.
What makes Finis Amoris Est resonate is its maturity. Pageant Mum doesn’t rush toward closure or dramatize pain for effect. Instead, they sit in the unresolved middle ground. Resting in the place where relationships linger long after they should’ve ended. It’s a breakup record that feels inhabited rather than staged, shaped by experience instead of spectacle.
For a band often associated with attitude and bite, this EP feels like a turning point. Finis Amoris Est doesn’t abandon intensity but refines it. And in doing so, Pageant Mum delivers something quietly devastating, honest, and deeply human.
