At the end of last month, British alternative rock band Basement released its third studio album, and it is a masterpiece of rock perfection.
The album starts out with “Brother’s Keeper,” a brilliant entrance to the emotional journey the listener will encounter in the album.
Introduced by a cymbals-led beat, the electric guitars enter the piece and the listener’s soul reverberates, singing along with lines such as “keep no one close or safe.”
“Hanging Around” continues these amazing rock melodies, implementing elements of the emo genre to create a simultaneously melancholic and invigorating musical component in an emotional work about picking up the pieces after the end of a great love.
“Lose Your Grip,” the third track, employs a sound similar to ‘90s progressive rock group Tool. With eerie melodic components and the screaming vocal technique often associated with the emo and harder rock genres, this song compliments itself and balances out all of these sub-genres for the greatness of rock n’ roll.
“Aquasun” comes next, an emotional piece about searching for something of meaning in old memories, to feel something after everything seems to be lost. The song’s harder and more complex rock melodic parts make this seem to be Guitar Hero-worthy.
The fifth track, “Submission,” has instrumental parts reminiscent of early Paramore. This track also implements the screaming vocal technique, and despite the lyrics being cliché, still wreak havoc on one’s emotions with lines like “I made mistakes / You give, I take.”
“Oversized” comes next, another Guitar Hero-worthy number, slightly slower to help tell the story of infatuation.
“Blinded Bye” was probably the album’s weakest track. Not that it was bad, by any means; it just lacked any elements that could have made it stand out.
“For You the Moon,” the eighth track on the album, was another emotional piece that makes the listener cry out alongside the lead singer as he begs to feel anything.
“Promise Everything,” the album’s namesake track, is a piece of brokenness, of trying to please everyone just to receive abuse and pain. Implementing once more the screaming vocals towards the end of the number, the lyrics are the most prominent component of this song: “turn around and end as you begin / promise nothing.”
“Halo,” the album’s final number, was the epitome of a quintessential finale. A slower track explaining the perfection of someone you love, the song’s one verse is enough to explain what it needs to, and takes the listener to his or her conclusion, fading out of the album with a minute-long instrumental solo.
Though the album had very few lyrics (often no more than a verse and a brief chorus), its lyrics were powerful and perfect.
The melodic components to these songs are perfect for fans of Green Day, Tool and Foo Fighters, implementing the harder/more emotional elements of punk rock and rock n’ roll.
