Touché Amoré - 'Is Survived By' review

This is the second time in 2013 I've heard a third album that is lyrically heavy on lamenting the trials of succeeding as an artist and the sacrifices made regarding loved ones, happiness and more... without ignorantly forgetting how blessed a life they are living.  Touché Amoré return with their hearts spilling over with the torment and love and all that stuff that Jeremy Bolm talks about in a way that is so face-slappingly distinct. On 'To Write Content', Jeremy directly talks about the pressures he faces of writing a third album and making certain it's not for the sake of it; If my joy comes at the price of my love/ I won't pay if I have to pretend.

In a similar vein, the impassioned anguish of  I'll find my way and follow through/ and maybe there I'll meet you  on 'Steps' is a classic Bolmism; simply put and immediately recognisable.

For the most part, the haunting hate heard on their debut '...To The Beat Of a Dead Horse' is by and large gone. The fury is still felt in its beats (see 'DNA''s wrought tension),  but the melodies rolling through it have grown fuller and freer, even more than second album 'Parting The Sea Between Brightness And Me'.

Go and get lost in the intros of both 'Non Fiction' and 'Praise/Love'. TA  have done more than pump the breaks here, they've stopped off at a scenic beachfront to wade in the moment. That's a recurring theme on this album; living in the moment and creating something to be remembered after you're gone. The beauty in their message is that it's never indulgent or preachy and in typical TA fashion it hits home instantly.

The self-deprecation is most on show on the 61 seconds of 'Praise/Love' as a lonely guitar roams below Bolm's exposed shout, seemingly to put a spotlight on the disdain he feels for his swelling ego as his band have been on the rise. A glutton for praise, a glutton for love/ abuse my name for all the above. You'd want to tell him to get over it if you didn't actually believe he means every word he howls, which you will.

'Anyone/Anything' is a stand out moment; a song about people contradicting themselves, from a band writing their most contradictory song to date. I don't owe anyone, I don't owe anything/ So stop expecting everything from me. The problem is Jeremy, is the song contains some of TA's most beautiful guitar sounds and a  huge chorus from a band with a set list already chock-full of singalongs. We're constantly expecting more and more of you. Sorry about that.

**By the way, the other album i was referring to from 2013 was Drake- Nothing Was The Same. Did anyone else make that comparison? I  genuinely had to fight the temptation to turn this into a Drake/ Touché similarities article.