Review: Coup de Grace by SeeYouSpaceCowboy... via Pure Noise
I wasn't sure what to expect of the jazz influence and direction Coup de Grace was going for, but it seems the band went all in here. This is far from SeeYouSpaceCowboy... with some sax interludes, it shoots for both in tandem. The transition to opening track "Allow Us to Set the Scene" hard cuts from one genre to the other seamlessly. There hasnt really been a SeeYouSpaceCowboy... album this varied in general. "Subtle Whispers to Take Your Breath Away" is very reminiscent of where screamo was in the late 2000s, heavy but with a dramatic flair. This lines up with the sass bands Connie [last name] lists as influences on this band's sound and maintains the heart of it while becoming more accessible than past releases.
On Connie, she has become an undeniably excellent front woman at this point. The original selling point of her delivery, the sass-inspired spoken word, is still present. Only now she's gotten more varied yet with more of a razor focus. These affectations are more than small mosh calls now, on songs like "Subtle Whispers..." they much longer, part of the process. "Subtle Whispers..." in general is a great showcasing of Connie as a vocalist as she shows every aspect of her current ability. There are quite a few features here, two from iRiS.ExE. Iris serves, sort of as a narrator for this story but also plays the part of the woman singing in the smokey club as it were. On "Respite for a Tragic Tale" this comes off especially well as the band backs this performance up with a tune more appropriate to this type of vocalization. I am not, in any way, a Kim Dracula fan and found their last record quite poor, but I do recognize how huge a pull for SYSC this collaboration truly is. Kim is doing really well to some pretty large audiences, and I hope this did them well in kind. Kim's influence pales in comparison, of course, to Courtney LaPlante who appears on "To the Dance Floor Shelter." It feels like Courtney's feature and the instrumental around it, however, takes account for what she's known for more classically as opposed to where Spiritbox sits now. Something I think fans of hers from before now will appreciate. Finally, nothing,nowhere. lends his voice to the genre curveball that is "Rhythm and Rapture." In opposition to Courtney's appearance this is more where this artist has fallen more recently, it's a pop punk cut in the middle of a screamo album, and it never feels out of focus. What sets SYSC apart right now is they truly run with their passions, and it makes them a better band release after release. It's so surreal watching this band as they create this sense of where they would be if they came up alongside the artists they pulled from in the same era. This sounds like a MySpace sass band's fourth record because it is who they are organically. This one sat in my drafts for a long time, and I think I've come to realize something. I always admired SYSC, but Coup de Grace made me a fan. Similarly, a lot of those bands from those eras I had a similar relationship with. But I also recognize this is usually far from the case. I don't think those records didn't vibe with me on the count of this band, I just think it took me some time to catch up.
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