Review: Basement – Colourmeinkindness

British punkers Basement are releasing their second, and most likely last, album on October 23^rd through Run for Cover Records. A year after dropping I Wish I Could Stay Here, the band is back with Colourmeinkindness.

In the two odd years the band has been around, they tore up the local and international scene. Basement was one of the most promising acts of 2011 after the release of their 7” Songs About the Weather and subsequent full-length. I Wish I Could Stay Here was a breath of fresh air for British hardcore-punk, a scene largely dominated by Gallows at the time. Mixing early 90s hardcore with a little bit of emo, Basement produced a highly unique sound, which was a staple of their success.

Colourmeinkindness is everything that I Wish I Could Stay Here was not. It is a completely different side of the band, but they retain enough of their old sound to still be recognizable. The emo has been dropped and this time around, the sound is a lot more punk and grunge. Only two tracks are reminiscent of their previous album, which are ‘Whole’ and ‘Spoiled.’

Andrew Fisher’s vocals are still very self-reflective and critical, just as on their previous release, but they have gained an edge this time around. There is a dynamic around them that, together with the instrumentals, gives the album a very energetic vibe.

‘Pine’ is the most radio-friendly song on the album, but even then, the lyrics are striking. Fisher lends everyone a look into his soul when he sings lines like “I don’t love you, I just need to be loved,” and “I’m a liar, I’m a fake. Open up your trust, let me throw your heart away.”

It is not until ‘Breathe,’ the song that kicks off the second half of the album, that we see the growth that Basement has made over the past year. Essentially, the song mixes all of their influences together and brings us something new. It is as much grunge and hardcore as it is pop punk.

‘Control’ and ‘Wish’ close off the album as a pair of songs that embodies what Basement was all about. ‘Control’ is almost a ballad, with Fisher’s singing becoming very personal and touching, while ‘Wish’ is the punk song of old, with crashing drums and distorted guitars.

One one hand rough and straight-up punk, on the other beautiful and grungy, Basement perfectly balances sounds on Colourmeinkindness. If you are only going to listen to one punk record for the rest of the year, let it be this one. This is Basement’s swan song and they deliver their best release to date.

Track list – Colourmeinkindness