Review: Touch̩ Amor̩ РParting The Sea Between Brightness And Me

“Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me is a very personal affair…”

Artist Name: Touché Amoré
Album Name: Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me
Year: 2011
Genre: Melodic Hardcore/Post-Hardcore
Label: Deathwish, Inc.

With only 1 song (‘Face Ghost’) being over 2 minutes in length, Touché Amoré’s Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me barely breaks the 20 minute mark – even though it’s a full-length release. Yet, this release is a perfect case of quality over quantity, seeing as this Californian melodic hardcore group unleash an emotionally-driven effort, packed with excellence, supercharged with grandeur and ultimately releasing itself from the chains of the expected.

Straying away from the traditional, formulaic songwriting approach and free from repetition, Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me wastes no riff, lyric or section, as every piece plays a crucial, unique part in the 13 mini-opuses, which might be short in length, but epic in nature. However, somehow amongst the chaos, the band always seem to find their way back to the melody, which seems to be the common denominator of this record; this melody-in-the-chaos approach, plus the emotionally-contextual music, brings to mind Pianos Become the Teeth’s The Lack Long After, which is another album that was highly rated by the MusicReview team for its originality and personal nature. In many ways, both these bands write for the emotions, first-and-foremost, and let the music flow naturally from this stream of consciousness.

Reading like 13 diary entries, Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me is a very personal affair, which poses many questions and leaves you pondering about your own existence. If you want your music a little bit deeper and more introspective, this is one album that you must have. Thought-provoking and honest, to say the least.

Best Tracks: ‘~’, ‘The Great Repetition’, ‘Condolences’, and ‘Home Away From Here’

85/100

- Sergio Pereira