It’s no longer popular to refer to a band as screamo (unless you’re middle-aged and call EVERY band that screams “screamo”); now the preferred categorization is “post-hardcore”. As I’ve mentioned before, this is really confusing since, at least for me, post-hardcore refers to bands like Fugazi, Jawbox, and Drive Like Jehu.
Shell Beach from Budapest, Hungary, are proudly carrying the torch for the kind of “post-hardcore” bands like Glassjaw, Dance Gavin Dance, and Underoath were making in the 00’s. Changes x Restless x Faithless plows through with a slightly more mature sound than your average screamo post-hardcore band. The melodies and overall catchiness provide a counter-balance for the savage, atonal guitar attacks that mark the heavier moments. Vocally, they stick to the pop-punk (think Yellowcard or Simple Plan) mixed with the hardcore screams style of vocals prevalent in this genre.
Although, if you’ve heard the bands I mentioned earlier, you won’t find anything new here, Shell Beach are certainly good at what they do, and they’ve made a decent effort. Most metalheads will probably look past this release, since Shell Beach are decidedly NOT a metal band, but if you’re a fan of melodic hardcore/post-hardcore in the vein of Dance Gavin Dance or Silverstein, you’ll find plenty like on this EP.