DP roll up to find the bandwagon has already left town...
There is no doubt that the second album of a band's career lives up to it's title of 'difficult'. The initial element of surprise is replaced with an element of expectation; and if the band decide to re-tread their debut's path they may be accused of being safe or unimaginative, yet if they experiment too much they run the risk of alienating their existing fanbase. It's truly a case of damned if you do, damned if you don't. 'New Medicines' is the follow-up to debut 'Four Wall Blackmail', and sees the quintet fearful of a critical backlash that would see them fall foul of this dreaded "Sophomore Slump". Really, they needn't have worried.
'New Medicines' is a showcase of melodic hardcore at its finest; a technically proficient blend composing a rich soup of layered guitars and soaring melodies that are both instant and memorable. This draws easy comparison to scene-leaders Thursday, but Dead Poetic have a darker, more metallic side, that means they actually share more in common with Finch – albeit minus the blastbeats.
If this was released two years ago then I'd be breaking out the Acme Press Kit™ and enthusiastically stamping "next big thing" on their foreheads, but as it happens the slump they worried about isn't theirs but one of the genre as a whole. The last few years have seen a flood of ten-a-penny bands saturate the market to bursting point, meaning that it's increasingly difficult to distinguish yourself without making the inevitable emigration to musical pastures new. I'd still expect this to sell very well, after all good music is good music, irrespective of whether it's in favour or not; but they may have to wait a decade or so before the genre comes back into fashion in the great retro emotional-hardcore revival of 2020 – you heard it here first.
The whole thing may be a little too polished for some, but those of you who are lamenting the decline of emotional-hardcore could do a lot worse than checking this out.