Altsounds - To Catch A Thief - Your Eyes Will Burn [EP]

Jarring and Emotive release from Scottish mob.

One can imagine just what the bating music loving masses will think if you were simply told “this is another post hardcore EP up for release!” However, please note the title, it says your eyes will burn; not your ears. So if you’re a bit unnerved or generally projectile vomit at the notion of emo / post hardcore then don’t recoil in fear just yet; these guys aren’t actually that bad.

OK so as far as post hardcore goes, this Scottish quartet don’t exactly re-invent the wheel by any means. But that said To Catch A Thief are genuine and steadfast in the conviction they convey through their angular and quite emotive, dare I say it..... emo. As tracks such as 'Honest' and 'The Hunted' provide some quality riffs and the kind of energy that leaves one envisioning four young men totally strung out on Red Bull, while sniffing pure coffee granules cut with Pro Plus and pure Colombian marching powder.

Elsewhere, the Glassjaw-esque 'Not Guilty' and the slightly generic 'Overture' remain in a similar vein, but negate to take it elsewhere. They’re good, solid slabs of slightly irate post hardcore but if you’re new to the genre or are hoping to be converted to the bands cause, I’d go back to the source. Put simply, To Catch A Thief are a cracking young band. They write from the heart and they play from the soul, but next time they should put away their At The Drive In records and pull out something, anything else that could inspire.

They’re good, but with a little invention they could be great.