After releasing a self-produced demo on No Sleep Records (one of the label's first releases), they released their debut album ".to the beat of a dead horse" on 6131 Records in 2009. To The Beat Of A Dead Horse is as rewarding as it is agonizing, and it’s pretty agonizing.Touché Amoré is an American post-hardcore band from Burbank, California, formed in 2007. Don’t be too intimidated by the ominous clouds overhead. Despite the minor fault of over-simplicity at points, Touche Amore’s debut full length is incredibly promising. To The Beat Of A Dead Horse is short and sweet, yet refuses lose any passion in the process. ![]() But I swear there's nothing innocent in these eyes, / because I've seen dead friends, / and I've seen murder, / and I've done things I wish I hadn't done.” I've been blessed with these eyes that come with innocent questions, / like where I'm from, holding expectations / to give obvious answers and tell no lies. “I'm biting the hairs on my arm like I do / when I don't know where I am or what I should do. ![]() To The Beat’s exceptional brevity is on full display on one track in particular, “Nine.” Clocking in at 0:44, “Nine” is a testament to Touche Amore’s ability to fit so much lush emotion into such a little space. The lyrics are often moving and passionate, and one of the album’s biggest strengths is Touche Amore’s uncanny ability to fit so much substance into such a small package. To The Beat Of A Dead Horse is driving, violent, and forceful, and keeps the album moving swiftly and surely. In their place though, among the controlled yet chaotic screaming, is superb percussion. Many times repetition is used among the screams, just take a listen to the end of “Cadence,” and the refrain of the title, “I am marching to the beat of a dead horse.” While it certainly focuses attention on the screaming, it feels like we’re missing out on a lost facet of the music, as the overly simplified guitars tend to fade into the background. The riffs reflect this quality of comprehensibility as the more prodding, deliberate guitar lines are evident rather than the usual intricacy associated with similar bands. Thursday’s Geoff Rickly lends his voice on the melodic, “History Re***s Itself,” which works surprisingly well along with an appearance from Modern Life Is War frontman, Jeffrey Eaton, later on. The screams are particularly poignant, as rather than furiously scream cryptically, frontman Jeremy howls his words slowly and comprehensibly. From the lucid songwriting to the cathartic stops/starts, to the overall bluntness of this record, Touche Amore sound incredibly disturbed, in a good way. It’s hard to separate this record from the anguish and agony (present on the cover, even) that bedevils the living daylights out of Touche Amore. To The Beat Of A Dead Horse really is a superb blend of genre-bending qualities. ![]() To The Beat is a screamo-influenced modern hardcore record with a melodic twist. The most striking aspect is that no song hurdles the 3 minute mark. Touche Amore are just one of the many recent bands to integrate emo and hardcore music. A harrowing black and white cover complete with trite symbolism in the form of a foreboding rain cloud certainly displays a feeling of danger, ominousness, and even foreboding doom. One look at the ominous cover can tell you that. To The Beat Of A Dead Horse, is a record to take seriously.
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