Album Review // Fleshwater // We're Not Here To Be Loved

Closed Casket Activities

In the same tradition as Goat Punishment, Adventures, and any other number of side projects featuring nearly identical members, Fleshwater is a melodic hardcore band born out of nu-metal revivalists Vein.fm. With both bands throwing their sound back to such a specific period of time, it may be hard for some fans to recall exactly what '90s melodic hardcore sounded like. Fortunately, we have Fleshwater to remind us.

Front and center are guitar riffs that would make Deftones blush; heavy and distorted but undeniably catchy, they provide the backbone for alternating clean and screamed vocals, occasionally sounding more reminiscent of Glassjaw than anybody else. Elsewhere, they bring to mind the grunge-revival habits of gone-but-not-forgotten scene legends Title Fight. But perhaps the greatest trick Fleshwater pulls is brevity and how it serves their debut's replay value. With nine tracks (including a Bjork cover) spanning less than 28 minutes, the band cleverly sets listeners up to return for more. (Seriously, just consult the hook on the 77-second "Kiss the Ladder" and tell us you won't be running it back.)