By: Nerhys Hall
http://www.stayinsidemusic.com
From Brooklyn, New York, Stay Inside want to tell stories about fighting against oppression and strive for inclusivity. With the current state of affairs in the United States, as well as the wider world, the post-hardcore four-piece goes against the status quo by tackling taboo topics, often inspired by their own lives. Topics that their new EP, The Sea Engulfs Us and the Light Goes Out, addresses including racism, misogyny, and police brutality.
The EP has a cool sound of melodic post-hardcore laden with heavy emotions. Leading with “Advice From A Caterpillar”, the album begins quietly, with simple guitar and drum intro. The first vocals heard have a hip-hop sound to them, giving the song a really neat genre-bending quality. As the song begins to pick up aggression, the vocals take on a more yelling sound. There’s a really cool guitar riff that accompanies melodic, almost-singing vocals that are full of emotion.
Following this comes “Reconstruction”, a pretty typical-sounding post-hardcore track. It has a slow intro before picking up speed and includes a combination of yelling and melodic vocals. Featuring long instrumental sections, one part that really stood out to me had a break from loud, aggressive yelling to a really quiet, almost peaceful instrumental section.
Songs four and five both bring more energetic music. “Fever And Jealousy” starts quick and continues to build in intensity as the instruments layer over one another. There are some really cool synth sounds and the whole track has an urgent feeling to it and it ends with multiple people shouting the lyrics. The fifth song, “Your Guardsmen Swarm Like Locusts” is full of energy with melodic singing, a fast-paced guitar intro, and a repeated guitar riff. During the vocal sections, the instrumentation remains simple, but then build when just heard on their own.
Between songs two and four, the third track “(fishtank)” is a short breather from the aggression and social commentary of the other songs. Mostly instrumental, there is only a hint of vocals at the very end. The instrumentation is simple and percussive.
The final song, “We Look On In Echoes”, has a different intro, featuring atmospheric sounds. It features more fuzz and distortion than the other songs and the instruments build up into massive layers on top of one another. The track has an urgent feel, keeping the overall cohesive sound of the EP. The melodic vocals have an echo-like quality to them and the juxtaposing yelling sections feature more than one voice. It fades out like a calm sky after an aggressive storm.
If post-hardcore is something you enjoy, you will definitely want to check out Stay Inside’s latest EP.