Reviver – Versificator
Exigent Records

Rating:  

Reviver is a band that I have only recently discovered due to the fortunate tour routing on their upcoming tour. They come from Salt Lake City and they bring with them a unique style of melodic hardcore/punk that is quickly addicting and very enjoyable. ‘Versificator’ is the band’s debut full-length out on Exigent Records, it was released last year in July and it a powerful debut.

At this point it has become very easy to write off many melodic hardcore bands. It’s a pretty wide market of bands that are all started to homogenize into a very similar, increasingly shrinking spectrum of sound where only few bands truly come out above the rest of the pack. Reviver, in my opinion, is one of the bands on the top of the pack, and quite a breath of fresh air. While not reinventing music by any means, Reviver has crafted a blend of hardcore, punk and some catchy hooks into a sound that is not like many other bands around right now, and they do it masterfully.

‘Versificator’ doesn’t take any time at all getting straight into it. ‘Antennas’, the opening track, hits fast setting the tempo for the rest of the album and immediately introduces you to the band’s sound. It sets the bar pretty high and the rest of the record rarely falls below that point. There is an abundance of great music here, ‘Fortunes’ and ‘West on 66′ are two of my favorites on this album with ‘Fortunes’ being one of my favorite songs of the past few years or so I think.  With the exception of the track ‘Bukowski’, a slower track with a spoken word styled delivery, every track on this record is quality.

Aside from the song mentioned just prior to this, my only gripe with this record is that it’s too short.  Every time I listen to it, I always want to hear more than the 9 track album has to offer. I often leave it on just to repeat, which to this point has not lead to any wear on the album’s appeal.

I am really happy that I came across this band, and I highly encourage anyone who might be remotely interested in this band’s style of music to check out ‘Versificator’. It’s in my regular rotation now and I’m very eager to see them live and to see what the future holds for Reviver.