The Horror Show is the fifth full length record by New York rockers I Am The Avalanche. Just over two decades into their career as a band, this eleven song collection is the group’s most dynamic effort to date. Running the gamut of forays into post-hardcore, melodic hardcore, and alternative rock, the band showcase their knack for creating earworms and heart-tugging melodies and lyrics.
“God’s Travel Plans” kicks the record off with a lament for Long Island, New York. A short exercise, a musical vignette–with melodic nods (intentional or not) to Weezer’s “Undone (The Sweater Song)—The stage has been set. Followed by “The Horror Show”—a bleak and droning number that seamlessly ventures between slow and fast tempos–This track sets a melancholic mood for the record. “Laughing and Bleeding” is a windows down, arms out jam that is made for open highways and night drives. This early in the record, the band is already reaching deep for genuine sincerity, and boy does it sound good. This is the type of track that fits in nicely with modern rock gods like The Menzingers and The Gaslight Anthem, and sets I Am The Avalanche apart from their melodic hardcore counterparts, None More Black and Shook Ones. We love to see it.
Almost a quarter of the way into the record, I Am The Avalanche bring us the longest song of the record entitled “I’m Not Dead (I Just Blinked and Never Saw the Light Again),” clocking in at nearly four-and-a-half minutes. With that in mind, the song seems to fly by effortlessly, weaving in delicate songwriting narratives with intentional sonic landscapes. The song begins quietly and works its way up with a crescendo, featuring a dissonant and powerful instrumental section that sends the song out triumphantly. “Osprey” segues the record through its first half, before transitioning into “5:55,” a depressing anthem for anyone who has felt the defeat of depression while being held accountable to the love of another.
Keeping things chugging the despondency express with “I Miss California and Every Dog I’ve Ever Met,” which balances vocal hooks with dreary musical backdrops. Track eight, “True Legends Never Die,” is the album’s hardest, with screaming, breakdowns, circle pit beats—the real deal. “Alive on 14th Street” keeps things moving in a gruff, melodic punk direction, a la bands like Polar Bear Club or Silent Majority, and detailing a love for one’s city, not dissimilar from The Wonder Years, or hell, even Bruce Springsteen—true singer/songwriter shit.
Closing out with the final two tracks “Rogue Knife”—an emotive cry paired with syncopated drums and dreamy post hardcore tinged guitars and Trébuchet—the vocal harmony-laden, triumphant ending to The Horror Show. The fakeout ending really gets you before going right back into one final breakdown. This record truly feels complete in every way.
Pick up the record from Equal Vision Records.
