Love Me Destroyer

Love Me Destroyer clearly have a solid hold on the concept of melody but aren’t afraid to get in your face. The driving guitars bring to mind A Wilhelm Scream or a faster Leatherface and the impassioned vocals are akin to older Hot Water Music. With this band there are a lot of comparisons that can be made but what it comes down to is that Love Me Destroyer simply write good, solid rock songs. Throughout The Things Around Us Burn there is a definite sense of urgency and sincerity spurred on by the driving rhythm section; the guitars aren’t afraid to push the songs forward while giving a nod to the better aspects of ’80s hair metal, and the singers belt out their lyrics with as much, if not more, intensity and conviction as any band toying with anything resembling emo, screamo or emotional hardcore these days. The strangest part of this album is the last track, "You’ll Never Take Me Alive.” The over three minutes of silence preceding it are clearly meant to separate it from the rest of the album, because it’s a different beast entirely: a four-minute blues rock song that sounds more like Lynyrd Skynyrd or CCR than anything you would find on a No Idea compilation. What Love Me Destroyer are most successful with is their ability to juxtapose intimacy and intensity, creating epic-sounding songs that are still better suited to dank basement clubs or house parties rather than any venue with a more than 200-person capacity.