Track Scars
Artist: Track Scars
Year Released: 2017
Rating: 3.5/5
The American electropunk duo, Track Scars, deliver on every promise made in promo material with their debut self-titled EP. Symphonic music rhythmically buried under waves of well timed drum beats and jarring (almost pitchy) vocals keep you from being lulled down comfortable alleys of creeping darkness.
With tracks seeming ripped from the score of John Wick 3, it’s hard not to imagine being stalked in a dystopian cityscape while listening to each of these songs; the beats on Knightsbridge in particular suggest a gunshot masking tempo. The inclusion of live instruments and not relying solely on an electronic medium works in each song’s favor, giving some life and dimension to each song in a genre that can often feel very flat. In the final song of the EP, Parquetry Courts, we see the depth of how much instruments can actually lift up the impact of the electronic component, especially when that overtly Gothic element is present.
For me the weakest aspect of each of the four tracks in the EP were actually the lyrics. At times I was pleased with the cleverness of the wordplay (“mouth full of glitter” was perfect in Dimes) but more often than not I felt that the lyrics seemed to alternate between being thematically fitting or forced to fit the meter of the surrounding lyrics. Which is a shame because the music itself could have filled those gaps perfectly in nearly every case. Silverthaw being an exception, even when the lyrics seemed a little forced they were delivered with such conviction and passion that the actual words seemed less important than the energy.
In all, with just four tracks to listen to over and over, I feel I would pay more for the collection if I had to do it over again and I look forward to a full album at some point in the future. Knightbridge is my one track to recommend as a single but each song has its own style worth listening to while obviously being a part of the Track Scars arsenal.