PN „The Art of Being We”

emo-indie rock
48.02 (10 songs)
Cool songs: Being in Love with Life, Feeding Off Fashion, Blameyouthemus
www.funtimerecords.com/pn

To all but those in Western Europe, PN is very much a new name to the emo/metalcore crowd. Having honed their craft for the past 12 years, this Belgium quartet have secured an American/rest of the world deal with seminal Metalcore label Life Sentence records in Utah. Although they have seven other studio efforts under their belts (4 full lengths, 2 split cds and a mini cd), ‘The Art of Being We’ (which was originally released in Europe in 2002) is their American debut. In the light of the increasing popularity of emo-core, this disc should gather some positive reactions.

PN play a rather unique brand of hybrid metalcore meets indie rock. Their angel comes off like a cross between Boy Sets Fire and The Deftones. That sounds like their intention anyway. There is a heap of diversity in PN’s song structures – in particular the movement between harder edge riffage and wispier melancholic components, where they try to emulate James Keenan Maynard and Tool. Believe me when I say, they don’t really get close to ever pulling it off. But, I admire their balls.

I must state that this isn’t really my Bottle of Jack Daniels. PN may have their roots firmly entrenched in the metalcore scene, but at the moment their less than dynamic song writing coupled with their mutli-faceted indie rock meets hardcore is just a tad unconvincing. It could be argued that PN provide an alternative the current glut of sound-a-like metalcore bands in that theirs is a less than obvious sound. That argument has some merit, but it’s ironic that I found ‘The Art..’ to be a much more enjoyable album when they cranked up the harder edge riffs just like the style they’re trying to avoid. Clearly for me, PN are a much better proposition when they go for the heavier element in their sound.

PN will gather an assortment of emo-indie rock fans as a result of this album. I’m not entirely convinced that their ‘lighter’ side is the way to go considering that the harder/screamo element easily outweighs the former as far as quality is concerned. But with twelve years in the scene, what the fuck do I know? Fans of current day Cave-In, Boy Sets Fire and Will Haven will find something of interest here.

note: 6.5/10

Tracklist

1.Life is Killing Expectations
2.The Fingerless Glove
3.Where Naivety meets Reality, Stars are Born 4.Blamemeyouthemus
5.Breaking the Thumb
6.Last salute to a first commitment
7.Being in Love with Life (lesson I)
8. A Storm Called Life (Lesson II)
9. Feeding Off Fashion
10.Frame for a better Future