Sinaloa - Oceans of Islands CD Review

Level-Plane may be a label well known for contemporary screamo, as well as other shades of hardcore, like metalcore, crust, or doom-metal, but Sinaloa doesn't bare a resemblance to any of those genres. Instead Sinaloa offer an intriguing mix of mathy, interwoven guitar work, atypical drumming patterns and melodically charged half-shouted vocals. It's a sound that touches on everything from post-hardcore legends like Fugazi to noodling emo pioneers like Cap'n Jazz and is all managed with only two guitars and drums. It is a smart and detailed sound that is able to reside under the "art" heading without losing a sense of intensity and fervor. These are the kids that grew up in the hardcore scene then went to college, discovered indie rock, math-rock, and themselves, but never lost site of one of hardcore's most important tenants: sincerity and passion.

Opener "Tread, Not Trudge" works as a calling card for the band. The complex tempo, stabbing guitar lines, and chanted vocals give way to spacious guitar runs and finally a pounding chorus. It is here you can establish Sinaloa's weapons of choice: powerful strumming and crashing drum work or intricate fret-work and scatter-shot drum patterns that puncture the track. It's a rhythmically complex take on post-hardcore that surprisingly maintains very soft guitar tones.

"What We Could Not Move" may take a more straight-forward approach, but it's fantastic melody and addition of some trumpet skyrocket the song into an area of catchy goodness that other songs here stray away from in favor of jagged energy. It's not long before this approach reemerges on the delightful "Seek Harbor," who's simple organ-like pulse and rolling drums act as a perfect underpinning for the emotional delivery over top.

"No Bearing" goes a much darker route thanks to a minor key guitar throb that sounds like it could soundtrack a horror movie. The drums are cymbal crashes and a constant start/stop pattern that creates a sense of unease and tension unheard on the rest of the album.

The album closes out with "Legs.Limbs.Wings," a song that begins sounding much more controlled and restrained before diving head first into the twisting and turning guitar antics we've heard the whole album. Like the album's opener, its closer seems rather appropriate as the band send you off with another hit of their signature sound.

If Sinaloa suffer from anything it is a lack of vocal diversity. All three members of the band may sing, but they are sing in a similar tone. Not only that, but the fragmented half-shout approach does not always work well and at times is very limiting. A soaring note here, or a full on scream there and things would definitely be much more lively.

The other thing that seems important to note here is that along with lyrics the band include explanations for each of their songs which is a very cool bonus. Often lyrics can seem cryptic or simply cut and pasted, but with these explanations the songs take on clear and distinct meanings and emotions. Sure, some people may prefer to attach their own meaning to songs, but the explanations add a much deeper and diversified message to Sinaloa's music.