Genre : Post-hardcore, Mathcore
Released : September 2nd, 2022
Label : Dark Trail Records
FFO : Every Time I Die, The Chariot, Femur
Sunflo'er are one of my latest discoveries within the realms of mathcore thanks to the excellent Dark Trail Records.
My interest was piqued immediately with their single "cryptfucker" which packs an incredibly energetic punch with its highly infectious combination of classic hard rock elements with mathcore and post-hardcore, even having some post-rock undertones to it as well.
On "all these darlings and now me", which is the band's third full-length release, this love-making between rock & roll and mathcore is present all over the record and is in fact what gives it its strong sense of character and identity throughout its twenty-seven minutes of run-time.
Although comparisons with Every Time I Die appear to be unavoidable, Sunflo'er have crafted something that is indisputably theirs by mixing various musical elements taken from rock, mathcore, post-hardcore, screamo and post-rock which creates this distinguishable attitude and atmosphere that the album exudes.
The lyrical content, which has a rugged poetic style to it, along with the raw, "live-feel" style of production both play a huge part in creating that attitude I mentioned and building a world for this album to exist in while the band's heartfelt and gritty performances (most notably vocalist Jeff Lyszczarz's gravelly yells) bring it all to life.
Despite being a rather short record, "all these darlings and now me" brings a lot of variety to the table and its energy and intensity keeps the listener captivated from the album's rowdy opener "straight to vhs" to its cathartic and emotional closing title track.
Definitely a must-listen for any fans of the genres of music I've mentioned in this write-up and without a doubt, one of the highlights
in this category within a year rich with fantastic mathcore/hardcore releases.