Backtrack Lost In Life

Hardcore doesn't always lend itself to innovation or branching out into unfamiliar territory. While some bands end up becoming stagnant and monotonous in the face of self-imposed stylistic limitations, other groups are able to offer a fresh and exciting reinterpretation of this established sound. These latter bands are best exemplified by Long Island's Backtrack. Making hardcore purists stand up and take notice with their 2011 debut LP Darker Half, many had high expectations for their latest offering of aggressive, New York-style hardcore. Fortunately, Lost in Life delivers punishing, memorable songs at almost every turn. Backtrack wastes no time by starting off the record with "Their Rules," a mid-tempo track with memorable riffs and a gang vocal-laden chorus that serves as an impressive opener and a definite album highlight. "Wash Away" and "Lost in Life" continue the aural assault with galloping drums, energetic riffs, and unrelentingly belligerent vocals that never seem tedious or tiresome despite not being overly diverse. At this point it also becomes readily apparent that the band made an excellent choice having Nick Jett, best known as the drummer of Terror, produce this album. Overproduction is always a concern for bands in a genre largely known for its raw recording style, but Jett is able to create a clear, crunchy, fresh sound that really highlights the group's song writing and performance. The album continues the remorseless hardcore barrage with "Under Your Spell," an anthemic track that blends driving riffs and lyrics that deal with social alienation through vocalist James Vitalo's menacingly delivered screams. Following this, "Nailed to the Tracks" seems to be a somewhat forgettable song until its breakdown and outro hit harder than nearly anything else on the record. "Rot in Your Race" and "Right This Wrong" help fill out the middle of this record, and although their relentless tempos and driving guitar lines shouldn't be discounted, they don't hit with the same impact as many of the earlier offerings on this album. Unlike countless hardcore bands that load the first half of their record with the strongest tracks and leave their weakest offerings to serve as filler at the tail-end of the album, Backtrack finishes as strongly as they start. "Still Searching" and "The Way It Is" deliver some of the most memorable song writing on the entire record and "Guilty Conscience" is the album's fastest track, blending thrash riffs with a hard-hitting groove into an impressive example of well-executed crossover hardcore. Bottom Line: Backtrack is helping to keep straightforward hardcore enjoyable and interesting. Lost in Life is both a logical successor to their debut LP and a demonstration of how much the band has grown as songwriters. Although not without its flaws, this record sets the bar quite high for hardcore in 2014.