Where I Rise EP

One year after their debut LP, hardcore rockers Young Turks return with the brand new Where I Rise EP that released last week from Animal Style Records.  Based out of Portland, the band has been active for three years and has completed five North American tours.  The press release hypes that the band has moved on from musical themes of hopelessness to writing songs about the strength to overcome and the will to endure.  Ultimately, a lack of original style and substance make Where I Rise an uneventful affair.

Opening track "Territo(royally) Pissed" has the thrashing guitars and screaming lyrics that are the basis of the hardcore genre.  The song is very literal with lead singer Matt Koenig  screeching "What's mine is mine - What's yours is yours."  Snore.  At the end of "Roe vs. Wade vs. Westbrook" Koenig repeatedly screams "F--- this city!"  Funny, that's what I was thinking about this track.  The only breath of fresh air on the album is "Old Gods" due to some refreshing, distinct guitar work.  Unfortunately, the facade ends after about a minute and dissolves into the same old stuff.
 
I'm all for artistic expression, but I can't stand listening to explicit language in music void of meaning.  When Maynard James Keenan drops the f-bomb towards the conclusion of A Perfect Circle's "Passive," it was a buildup of emotions that meant something.  Perhaps instead of using a microphone, musicians who feel the need to shout useless expletives that add nothing to their work should vent their frustrations into a pillow instead.  There's no doubt that Young Turks sound good, yet at the same time they add nothing new to the genre.  Fans of hardcore music might enjoy Where I Rise, but everyone else should take a pass.