There are few bands who are able to evoke such emotion that listening to an album leaves me with brimming eyes, goosebumps and a beaming smile; Touché Amoré have always been one of them. On Lament especially, they’re reaching in and lifting your entire being with hopeful melodies and, as always, beautifully poetic and emotionally frank lyrics.
There’s something about this new uplifted sound and the marriage of the happy and the vulnerability – raw and sore – of the vocals and the man behind them, that’s so touching. It’s like finding that light at the end of the tunnel and feeling relief even though you’re still aching from the hardships you’ve had to endure in the dark.
It’s on their fifth studio album that we see them take a new approach to grief and pain and it’s this sparkling sensibility, like glass catching in the sun, that’s really exciting. It creates more singalong moments, more movement and along with the flitting tempo, more feeling.
With plenty of masterstrokes, including the drum blast on ‘Savoring’, the bottleneck slides of ‘A Broadcast’ and the exceptional pairing of Jeremy Bolm and Andy Hull (Manchester Orchestra) and the layering vocals on ‘Limelight’, ‘Reminders’ has to be our standout track. Featuring Julien Baker, encapsulating the essence of the entire album perfectly.
There’s so much to be excited about on this album. Lament proves not only that this is a band of exceptional quality, but that Touché Amoré are able to surprise, evolve and once again express true love for their craft.