Imminence
This Is Goodbye
(SharpTone Records)
This Is Goodbye is a curious record from a group clearly in the midst of a sharp transition. Sweden’s Imminence were once a tech-y melodic metalcore group, but huge riffs and pit-inducing breakdowns aren’t the norm anymore. Instead, Imminence wanted to embrace their love of soaring alt rock and more US radio pop. Much of This Is Goodbye feels like a cross between That’s The Spirit-era Bring Me The Horizon and Imagine Dragons. It’s not a sound that necessarily sounds appealing on paper, and there are definite signs of what I’d call “morphing” pains (instead of growing pains), but Imminence are talented songwriters that at least know their way around a melody. Plus, it’s not as if the band are trading away their cred for a shot at radio relevance, as it’s clear the band’s passion is in crafting highly polished pop rock, and just about every song on Imminence’s sophomore record has something endearing.
The best moments on the record are when the rock and pop influences meld together most fluidly. The angular central riff in “Cold As Stone” buoys the strong track, and the late-song repeated bridge certainly could’ve been a nice lead-in to a pit-inducing breakdown in another world. “Diamonds” and “Keep Me” are also notable hyper-melodic little ditties. While much of This Is Goodbye is sticky sweet and feels a bit watered down by a desire for crafting anthemic rock choruses above all else, it’s good that vocalist Eddie Berg can hold his own; his clean vocals were the best part of their older material, and he is well-suited as a full-fledged rock frontman. This is a good collection of melodic modern rock, even when it falters.
That said, a couple obvious issues arise. First, the main hooks in the title track and “Love” are both too similar to each other and to the melody in Bring Me The Horizon’s “Throne” (with the same vocal effect). Sure, these two semi-copycat melodies are effective, but it gets at a greater problem with Imminence’s latest record: they pale in comparison to their contemporaries, and their mix of radio pop and alt rock feels like it’s still in flux. Very few bands can become a better version of themselves by stripping away their heaviest parts (BMTH is a rare exception). Also, none of the more rock-oriented songs hit that sweet spot of stupidly catchy and heavy, and the songs that go fuller into more electronically-based pop feel a tad mediocre overall. Yet, the talent is there for something close to greatness for Imminence, and considering how catchy (though forgettable) This Is Goodbye is at times, let’s hope that this isn’t goodbye. Instead, let’s hope this is the start of a new, compelling chapter for the young Swedish group.
