Album Review: Counterparts - 'You’re Not You Anymore'

You could be forgiven for thinking that it would be a tough feat for Counterparts to follow their spectacular 2015 release ‘Tragedy Will find Us’ with something equally as heavy, emotive and meaningful. I myself was sceptical that the Canadian five-piece could produce another record that met the calibre of its predecessor.

I was wrong. HELLA wrong.

From the very first note I was drawn in to the atmospheric, enchanting melody of the intro track. 38 beautiful seconds that part of me didn't want to end... until out of nowhere Bouquet hit me like a fist in the face.

Much like the style of previous releases, they are still able to perfectly mesh together hard, aggressive lyrics, with soaring riffs and thrashing drums. 'Arms Like Teeth', 'No Servant of mine' and 'Haunt Me' demonstrate how the band as a whole have matured. The sound overall feels more unified and the lyrics are darker than anything previous, yet somehow more poignant.

One thing I have always admired about Brendan as a vocalist is how he can make a whole crowd of thrashing hardcore fans go from wanting to smash everything one minute, to gathering in a group hug and sing-along the next. 'A Memory Misread' perfectly molds these two emotions together. The riffs have a positive upbeat bounce to them and the chorus is super catchy. All builds up to what can only be described as an EPIC beat down. This track will create so much energy live that it's bound to fire up the circle pit.

'Thieves' is a 1 minute 16 second thrash-fest, but one lyric really stuck out: "with my last breath, I will strangle you to death." Somehow this changed the whole context of the track for me. It's aggressive, it's a short burst of uncontrolled emotion. It's Counterparts efficiently doing what they do best.

My personal favourite has to be 'Swim Beneath My Skin'. I went through such a roller coaster of feelings listening to this track and it's pretty much been on repeat ever since. Another epic beat down that makes me want to break things suddenly becomes a soaring guitar melody, turning my aggression to an overwhelming feeling of melancholy. Just a few seconds later it switches back and it becomes clear - these emotions are one and the same.

I'm so proud that these guys have returned with such a powerful, yet dynamic record which demonstrates perfectly their ability and the growth they have experienced as a band. I can't wait to catch them on tour here in the UK this November - I implore you to do the same.

YNYA - Brutal. Passionate. Counterparts.

Review by Lauren Kelly Brown