Fear Zine.

As We Sink – Ventures

Embarrassingly I hadn’t listened to AS WE SINK before the release of VENTURES, which meant I missed out on their previous split with Donnie Brasco, despite having seen their name around. This was definitely a massive over-sight on my part because Ventures is phenomenal! On a first listen it seemed As We Sink are very comfortable in their own sound, and upon going back and listening to their first effort, they have clearly refined and matured their sound with this second release.

Ventures is incredibly catchy with influences pulled from many different genres such as melodic-hardcore, pop-punk and even 90’s emo, with some bits sounding very reminiscent of bands such as Bear Vs Shark, or Algernon Cadwallader even! I dare you to give it three listens and not be singing along.

The opening track, ‘Bitter Teeth’, starts heavy and fast with crunchy guitars that perfectly complement the coarse vocals that could come from any Title Fight song. The juxtaposition between the clean vocals and guitars crashing in give a real sense of urgency that propels the song forward making it a strong opener and good introduction to the EP.

‘Drifter’ definitely has a more melodic punk feel, the song ending with the ever crowd-please anthemic gang-vocals that is sure to get everyone involved. This song sits very nicely between the opener and subsequent ‘Aching Hands, Itchy Feet’ as it raises the tempo prior to the almost bluesy intro to the next song.

The penultimate track starts apparently softly, however this only lures you into a undulating sense of complacency before Pianos Become The Teeth-esque tremolo picked jangly chords cut through your conscious. ‘Aching Hands, Itchy Feet’ definitely exemplifies the bands growth both musically and lyrically, and demonstrates the diversity that a four track EP can possess.

The fourth and final track, ‘Most Important Days’ is an excellent closer. Even after just a single listen, it becomes evident that the absolute strength of this song lies in its incredible gang-vocal ending which does well to bring the emotions from the rest of the EP to head: “As I try to keep my head above the tide I’m losing time, but at least I’m fucking trying!”

Overall, ‘Ventures’ is an outstanding EP that should give As We Sink the momentum to achieve bigger and better things. With the current comeuppance of various forms of ‘emotive’ hardcore, you could say the stage is set to receive As We Sink so make sure to get behind them!

‘Ventures’ 7’’ was recorded by Jag Jago and mastered by Alan Douches, and will see a physical release on 13^th April, artwork by Tom Lacey (Ghost of a Thousand). The release is being pressed on translucent purple vinyl and limited to 250 copies so pick one up from Moshtache records quickly!