VenuesAspire

Aspire is the debut full-length album of German post-hardcore emerging sensation Venues.

Following the excitement built up around their 2015 EP Breaking Down a Venue, Aspire delivers a sophisticated rendering of Venues’ unique approach to emotionally expressive post-hardcore.

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One of the distinctive features of Venues is its vocal pairing of Nyves Krithinidou and Robin Baumann. Krithinidou vocal versatility is impressive. In general her voice is full and rich, yet with strains of anger and darkness. The interplay of Krithinidou clean vocals with Baumann’s heavy hardcore vocal delivery is extremely effective for communicating the range of emotional movements that Aspire traverses. Dilemma is one example of Venues’ polarisation between Krithinidou’s resonant clean vocals rendered over the heavy intro, leading through the catchy chorus into the hardcore onslaught that closes the song.

With Aspire, Venues have captured an enticing range of emotions embedded within their overall relatively optimistic message.

One of Venues’ strengths is its focus on melody and streamlined compositions, with uncluttered, memorable tracks like Nothing Less and Silence showcasing how Venues can weave its various stylistic elements together. The most profound example of this is My True North. With a picturesque clean guitar intro and tear jerking solos, My True North is a fuller, more epic sounding track and is the most powerful song on Apsire. This track harnesses all the strengths of Venues’ melodic, metal and hardcore influences in perfect balance.

With Aspire, Venues have captured an enticing range of emotions embedded within their overall relatively optimistic message. Combining angst-ridden yet hopeful lyrics with their soulful-and-aggressive dual vocal front has created a forward-thinking and engaging album that genuinely offers a refreshing new approach to post-hardcore.

STANDOUT TRACKS: My True North, Dilemma, Nothing Less
STICK THIS NEXT TO: Bleeding Through,  Lacuna Coil, Naberus.