UMUR
"Love Is Love // Return To Dust" is the debut full-length studio album by US post hardcore act Code Orange or Code Orange Kids as they were called at this point. They changed their name to Code Orange in June 2014. The album was released through Deathwish Inc in November 2012. The band formed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2008 when the members were still young teenagers, and they´ve released some demos and EPs before releasing "Love Is Love // Return To Dust".
The music on the album is an experimental/progressive type of post hardcore. Converge almost immediately comes to mind, but Code Orange are not a clone band. In addition to the fast paced hardcore sections, the music also features crushingly heavy breakdowns, atmospheric post-metal sections, and even the odd nod towards shoegaze (My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive) on "Colors (Into Nothing)". The vocals are mostly aggressive higher pitched shouting, but there are both deeper more brutal vocals, and occasional clean female/male vocals, featured on the album. The instrumental part of the music is relatively experimental featuring many tempo changes, surprising breaks, and other interesting details.
The 10 track, 27:07 minutes long album features a good flow, with great dynamic changes in atmosphere, pace, and musical style, which is one of it´s greatest strengths. But the excellent musicianship (these guys/girls are very well playing/singing), and the organic and incredibly well sounding Kurt Ballou (Converge) production are great assets too. It´s actually a bit hard not to be blown away by a high quality debut album like this one, and it´s safe to say that Code Orange are off to a great start. A 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved.