Reach NYC, is a band who most commonly are noted by the reputation of their guitar player Rich Cipriano formerly of the seminal NYC Hardcore band Sick-Of-It-All, but to say this the only reputation the band deserves would be grossly unfair. The band can at times sound like Quicksand, but with a more modern crunch, there's elements at play of the NYC scene but the band doesn't pigeonhole themselves and fall for the straight hardcore direction. Instead the band combines a healthy dose of emo providing a brass knuckled punch of aggression with a growling crunch reminiscent of Helmet without the outlandish screaming. Musically the vocalist Rene constantly cascades his voice over buildup's and choruses with heavy usage of dynamics, while the band keenly pays attention to their acute song structure almost weaving it around the vocals. Many times intro's, fills and breakdowns serve as a launch pad to either cool down the song with a serpentine twisting vocal or bring the aggression up a notch with a seething vocal track. Alot of overdub/backup's are used and at time it almost sounds like Rene reassures himself by answering his own questioning vocals by following them with a closely knit phrase stated by himself. In a surprising twist on the style the band holds, vocals can almost at times sound like a rap, although upon closer inspection it really just seems to be clever wording and a fast tempo vocal pattern. Guitar wise the band brings a standard grinding riff, one thing that catches the ear is the way the riff's feel very polished and rounded and almost constantly open and shut themselves, making for a plethora of silence breaks which are usually dynamically put to use. The overly down tuned guitars that encompass all of today's "neo-metal" aren't present on this release, instead it's more of a traditional cleaner approach which can make for a refreshing change from the copycat styles that are making their way to the forefront of the music industry. Bass never really comes out on it's own and instead really just serves as an underlying backbone gelling the songs together and keeping things warm through the constant use of breaks in the songs. Drums thunder the songs along with a sturdy but somewhat more sparse approach than your typical emo/hardcore band. If anything the band really feels most times to be a vocal/guitar oriented band, and it's something that feels very timeless, especially with alot of the current crop of bands hiding behind excessive percussive elements. Stand out tracks would "Four Years" which showcases a gritty encircling riff with flammable lyrics that eventually buildup and explode into a highly emotional outro of "won't bring back, everything I ever was". "Decide Or Follow" is another nice showcase of the bands talent with a good showcase of the bands ability to switch back and forth from lush emotional auditory environments to an aggressive buildup which ends in an unwillingly submissive chorus. There's not much bad to say about this release, a few things that should be made light of though is that there is an element of songs sounding the same, with tracks somewhat running over into each other, for the first few listens at least. Another downside could be the band essentially rides a familiar song structure through each song, not much variation is used from their distinctive style and this can somewhat pare down the songs making the listener feel somewhat unsure of what this band is truly capable of, It's always good to see a band make a certain sound work, but it's also a more interesting listen when the band try's different elements and switches things up often. All things considered though this band easily accomplishes their tasks, the main one of which in all likelihood is being a solid emo/hardcore hybrid that incorporates a more modern approach to a style that is tested and true. Reach NYC are a band that combine influences of the present and add them with an innovative approach to the tried and true emocore hybrid style that has grown out of the infamous NYC hardcore scene. While perhaps not the most commercially accessible band to the hordes of "KoRnBizkit Kids", They don't fail to impress with a solid refined style that can bombard with bruising aggression as easily as it can cradle you with lulling vibrant emotion. Definitely a satisfying debut for a band you can almost assuredly expect to hear more of.
(4 / 5)