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We Never Learned To Live – Silently I threw them skywards

We Never Learned To Live – Silently I threw them skywards

This was a difficult review to write. After reviewing their EP and split with Human Future I now got the chance to review We Never Learned To Live’ s debut LP as well. And I’m to this very moment not sure if I’m pleased with the development the band has made. One thing is for sure, We Never Learned To Live has developed. A lot, I like to add. The transitions in the songs are smoother than ever before, all songs have a good flow in it.

The biggest and most notable development has taken place in the vocal department. The band is using more clean vocals than ever before. This also mean the band has shifted it’s focus a bit from their post-rock with screamo focus to a more post-rock with prog-rock approach. And yes, the music itself also shifted it’s focus more to the aforementioned direction. The name Oceansize popped up in my mind a couple of times when listening to this album. Not a bad band to be compared with, but not the kind of development I was hoping for from We Never Learned To Live. I would have prefered them to work out the screamo parts more. With regards to the usage of clean vocals: the vocal lines aren’t always that interesting unfortunately. On a couple of occasions the vocals come across a bit dull due to these not to interesting vocal lines.

Now all this sounds a bit harsh on the album. A bit too harsh perhaps, as this isn’t a bad album. Not at all! So let’s make clear why I’m in doubt whether I actually like the album or not. This album is still very clear We Never Learned To Live. Their songs have a better flow and most importantly, especially for this genre: the band sounds sincere. Their music thrives on emotion and the band gets it across perfectly. Next to that the artwork, titles and parts of the lyrics I deciphered (unfortunately the lyrics were not included in the promo package or their bandcamp-page) make me wonder if this record is a concept album. All very positive, isn’t it? So my main issue is: I hope their sound does not get too mellow…

For now, I’ll give ‘m the benefit of the doubt. I’ll probably buy their record soon and give it couple more spins.

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