American rock group Hundredth recently released a new album titled Rare, marking a departure from the band’s typical melodic hardcore style, instead moving further into shoegaze/indie.

By Jane Howkins

It’s certainly a strange transition for Hundredth, and one that might be rather unexpected for fans, considering the vast leap and change in style. Melodic hardcore and shoegaze are two very different genres and, while they both have their origins in the same areas, fans of both styles probably don’t overlap very much. According to the band, this change is due to their need to play music that they enjoy themselves which, in our opinion, is fair enough – although it does beg the question of why they decided to originally play hardcore music to start with.

Elements of their old sound is present on a few tracks, and the frantic riffing on Down and our favourite track Chandelier show moments of their previous style, but fans purely expecting hardcore music will be disappointed. That’s not to say that Rare is a bad album though, as it’s actually very good, and we still recommend that older fans check it out, and try to listen to the music from an objective point of view (which will admittedly be hard for some). What Hundredth have decided to do is actually a very brave move, and the genre leap is one that should be lauded for this very reason.

Rare is a very controversial album, and its contents will be a surprise to many. Shoegaze fans should love it. It’s also highly recommended that older fans of Hundredth give it a go as well. Who knows – they might end up discovering a whole new genre at the same time!

Rare by Hundredth is available now.