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Westport, MA based hard rock outfit War Games are back with their all new studio release titled "Holding Patterns". The album is a melodic, knock you on your ass effort that lurches you back but keeps your head focused forward with their intricate blend of alt rock that draws from influences such as Thrice and Brand New to deliver a raw and potent mixture that goes down smoothly when first opened.
We start things off with "Sinker", a terrific track that introduces you to the terrific lead vocals of Kyle Therrien who adds a certain and distinct element ot the band that gives it its swagger and identitiy that is most identifiable to the listening audience. "Lucky Man" moves at a much faster pace than the preceding track, with an incredible percussional onsluaght delivered forth by Josh Zeolla that continues to peel away different facets of the band that are slowly start to bubble up to the surface and make their presence known to all around them. "Submerge Me" is my favorite track off the effort that totally evokes a different side of the band we haven't had the opportunity to experience until now with its beautiful simplicity working wonders for your ears when you first hear it, and gives you a different impresion of the guys who are definitely not a one trick pony by any stretch of the imagination. "Foundations" hearkens back to the ewarly 00's era of Brand New and Taking Back Sunday with some more modern twists thrown in for good measure, and ensures that the album is in good shape heading forward.
The album's title track melds together the best of both worlds with great transitions between the slower paced rock and the faster musical velocity that gives it a great balance and appeases to the people looking for a certain tempo to satisfy their musical desires. The disc's finality includes "Adapt and SUrvive" which features more toned down instrumentation and thought inducing lyrics that you most certainly can relate to and find a common ground with what the own individual members are feeling at this very moment. "Lungs" ends our musical stay with an encapsulated track that brings in elements from the other songs heard in succession, and gives you sort of a encapsulated recap of what we've encountered in our journey to the finish line, and how the tracks correlate off of each other. I've been a huge admirer of this band for some time, and am continually impressed with the musical evolution that they've undertaken and how drive they are to constantly find ways to hone and improve their craft and find ways to really cut to the core of strong, music based emotional connection which they have mastered the art of doing.
All in all, a terrific effort from War Games, a local MA band who have moved up the rungs and are starting to become a hot commodity that will serve them well with their constantly increasing popularity at this very moment.
Score: 4/5
Track Listing:
Sinker
Lucky Man
Anxiety Tracks
Submerge Me
Foundations
My White Whale
Holding Patterns
Intermission
Adapt and Survive
Lungs