AKO - Find Yourself

Well, as I pointed out in an earlier review, I'm dreading this, as I'm not exactly the world's leading expert on Hardcore, so as I listen to AKO's album 'Find Yourself', I'll just try to tell what I make of the music and not try to refer to their generic influences. To be honest I don't really have a clue about kind of music, being primarily a metal kinda guy, but being in a band myself I can usually tell when a band have put in the work to make a good record, and this is the case with AKO, without a doubt.

This is a very powerful debut, full of the energy and agression that makes hardcore great. The superior song writing quality, impressive musicianship and Martin Nichols' clear and full production work together to make a very professional sounding collection of songs. Having worked with Nichols before with Minus, and also having heared the results he got out of The Millicents in the early 90s, I know he is a good producer, and certainly on this album the sound has come up trumps.

As far as the songs go, they are pretty much consistenly heavy Hardcore juxtaposed with some crunchy Metal - Core riffs. The drums, to me are paricularly noteworthy, being, as they are, played with a satisying accuracy and clear within the mix. The rhythms themselves range from basic and driving to complex, with cutting fills and some quirky time signature changes, which are always welcome. It seems, though, that it is the riffs that really drive the songs, quickly changing from acousting passages to almost thrash territory, and back into melodic but beefy Metal - Core. Sometimes the emotion inducing chord patterns border ever so slightly on cheezy grounds, but this neither a permeating element of the songs, nor an innapropriate one within the context of their generic stylisms, so do not fear, at no point do they sound like a heavy Shelter ( ughh! ), more like a heavier Misfits perhaps. The themes seem to be pretty stereotypical Hardcore fare, which is just about all this non - expert can say about the lyrical side of things. To the outsider they may come across as a little bit 'done', but to the Hardcore fan methinks this could well be pretty powerful stuff, so who am I to get picky, being as I am in an alt rock band whose lyrics can get a bit wanky now and then!

So there you have it, I told you this wouldn't be a very informed review, but if you must leave with something then let it be this : AKO are an ace band. Musicianship has been dying in Bristol over the years, so feel proud that we are the home to a band whose debut record is a great example of their style, afterall, how often do you come across one of those, eh?

'Find Yourself' is on Trash City Records.

One last thing, though, they do have a song called 'Optimism', and as much as I like and recomend this record, that does make me chuckle a bit. He, He.


-- Lassie

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