Post Hardcore/Metal band Everyday Sidekicks are set to release their latest album Hope on the 31st March.
By Jane Howkins.
Hope was a fairly surprising record for us to review. There are a lot of bands around at the moment that play the same sort of music that Everyday Sidekicks do, and quite frankly, it’s become a little overkill, with a lot of them sounding rather generic at times. It’s that ‘metalcore’ stuff that’s been mixed with pop-punk that’s so popular at the moment, however Everyday Sidekicks actually seem to be good at what they do, with Hope sounding like a breath of fresh air for this style of music.
They’re heavier than a lot of those bands (no matter how hard they try), but they’re not afraid to exhibit a softer side, with vocalist Archie Hatfield going from a rage filled scream to harmonised singing in a matter of seconds. Many bands try this and fail, but Everyday Sidekicks use Hatfield’s range and the band’s obvious mass of musical influences to their advantage, creating their own niche within what can often be a clichéd genre.
Perhaps the reason we like them so much is because they actually manage to sound different from their peers. There are heavy riffs, but instead of culminating in breakdown after breakdown like other acts might, the guitars sound like they belong more with a hard rock band, than with one associated with metalcore. If it weren’t for the vocal stylings, we would actually suggest that Everyday Sidekicks were more of a hard rock band, but it’s clear that they’re trying to take down a number of genres at once, and it never sounds like too much. Lacuna again takes on a completely different sound, being an instrumental and mostly orchestral piece that builds into a blazing crescendo. It’s quite spectacular.
We also have to point out the production – whatever tools they’ve used this time round have worked tremendously, and it sounds clean, fresh, and yet also fierce, which makes for a great sounding record. We also loved the Peep Show reference in the title of Business Secrets Of The Pharaohs, which is always a plus.
Everyday Sidekicks are an excellent band, and Hope really shows off their musical prowess. It’s exciting to think of what the future holds for them, and we ‘hope’ (see what we did there?) that they will continue to innovate.