Let's say this is my first assignment at Scene Point Blank and this time I'll do a review for a hardcore punk album. It's an album by Pembroke entitled All The Brightest Pictures. Well, it's a quite rare thing for me to review hardcore punk records these days but at least I was an intense listener of this kind of music. One of the interesting points on the assignment is that Pembroke is made up of members of bands like Supertouch, Off Minor, and Saetia. Yes, Saetia got my attention for digging more into the band.
The album All The Brightest Pictures is an initial record by the band released on a Virginia-based record label, Handstand Records. And I would say it's a record that needs a lot of "repair" from so many aspects. The band features a different kind of approach in songwriting but still, in my opinion, some parts featured need to be improved. And then its recording quality also becomes one of the aspects that need improvements. Many parts of the guitarwork don't sound very detailed, leading to voids on the lead guitar that needs to get filled in.
Let's start with the first track, entitled "I'll Be Free". The track starts with a postrock-ish vibe intro which seems fitting, but it has a kind of bad transition as the verse part comes along. And the lead guitar part at the end of the song, which I can say that it's not a good part to be put into the song.
The next highlight song is "Take A Nap". It starts with In-Your-Face hardcore guitar work. I don't think it's a bad part but it's too mediocre. It’s too familiar or similar to many other hardcore bands. And surprisingly, the band put out a reggae part on this song. Still, this doesn't lift the quality of the material.
Moving to the next song entitled "Happy Hour". The song starts with emotive guitar work. I can hear some Rites of Spring vibe. It's just an okay song, as the lead guitar in the middle is one of the lamest part overall. The next highlight song is entitled "Must Be Nice". It's the last track of the album. I love the blasting part on the verse. It gives energy to the song. But the thing is, this song seems to have a void of emotion in the middle. Still, this song can't satisfy my expectation of the band.
I understand that the first take for the band wouldn't be easy, but there is a lot of room for improvement on this album.
