Tell Me I'm Alive

The world of hardcore never ceases to surprise. Here we are in 2020, and a new album has appeared from Downcast. Younger kids (i.e. anyone under 40!) would be excused for not knowing anything about this band, as their last release came out waaaaay back in 1991.

My introduction to Downcast was circa 1993/4. That was the time that I was discovering straight edge hardcore and the more obscure / underground bands and labels of the day. Someone loaned me a small batch of records, one of which was the Downcast 7". I was floored about how angry and heavy it was. To this day I think it is on a par with one of the greatest 7"s of the 90s, the Inside Out 7", except the Downcast is less well know, probably due to not being on Revelation. Anyway, if you have never heard that 7" then do yourself a favour and check it. You're welcome.

The band were extremely political, which was the order of the day, although I heard that they were very anti-dancing at their shows.Like a lot of things in the early-mid 90s, it kinda made sense back then but in the modern day it seems utterly ridiculous. They put out a full length in 1991 as a follow up to the 7", but it wasn't received as warmly. Generally people seem to regard it as a disappointment, which was probably almost inevitable following on from the 7". But it is very much a solid record.

So what would a new Downcast record 29 years after their last recorded output? I was intrigued. I listened to one song online, thought it was pretty terrible, but still bought the record anyway. Sometimes I can't even begin to explain what drives my decision making process.

As you can see, this is pretty dull aesthetically. Unsurprisingly, there was no limited version of this record, with all copies being on black vinyl only in a sleeve with pretty boring artwork.

So how does it sound? Well, first up, you have to give them props for doing it in the first place. Writing new music is always a gamble. But anyone expecting the same sound as either the previous LP or the 7" is going to be disappointed. It's nothing like either of those records. The sound on here is kinda mixed. For me it's a typical story of a band reuniting many years down the track. Basically, you have to get past the band name. You have to not think of it as a Downcast record. If you can do that, it does have some good songs. I've been listening to this a fair bit in recent weeks, but interestingly I have found that I generally reach for this one when I fancy something a bit different. So an ok record, but not exactly a Downcast record.