Band: The Departed
Release: Remnants
Release Date: Out Now
Is originality merely a myth? Is it an extinct concept after two Centuries that brought you everything and then brought you it again? Can anything new today be described as original? Herman Melville stated that “It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation”, a statement that should ring true in every respectable human being but is barely even heeded within the masses. He retired from literature and spent his last days as a Customs Officer before his greatest work, Moby Dick, was even seen as the masterpiece it is today. If anyone was to truly be the best spokesman for the reception and importance of originality then it seems fitting it be him.
Naturally, music should be a flowing river that builds bigger through progression and the bettering of what it proceeds. It should never bog itself down by the same thing, cluttering and fighting for an ounce of attention until it dams the current, cuts off the flow and deteriorates into a swamp that feeds on itself. When a stalemate exists so prominently today originality’s true meaning changes. To create original music that is new and never heard before is to create the impossible thus making it no longer an acceptable definition. The goal now is to trick the listener into not noticing that you are doing what has been done before by doing it well or better. It is perfectly fine to wear your influences on your sleeve but they should never be worn as your skin. It appears that this never occurred to Grimsby’s The Departed on their newest EP, Remnants so what we are left with is another straight up hardcore record that ticks all the boxes of ‘Hardcore 101’ and seems content in itself whilst doing so.
The first three tracks, Remnants, Broactive and Bridges Burnt are exactly what you would expect, so much so that you don’t even notice that they are three different songs. Indistinct butch vocals occasionally mirrored by gang vocals that statically trudge over chugging guitars and bass heavy drums is the equation here that adds up to a pretty average beginning. Interlude offers a break from the norm for a short lived 50 seconds until its sucked back clawing to the hardcore handbook. Sleep All Day, Party All Night, Never Grow Old, Never Die is fittingly bookmarked by a soundclip from The Lost Boys seeing as The Departed themselves seem to be cursed to be stuck this way forever. The record ends with Age Old Problems for Modern Times or maybe it ends with Remnants or Broactive?
No one wants walk around town in their Fred Terry shirt eating a Burger Queen when they could have the real thing so why would you want to be listening to Remnants when you could put on any Champion record and enjoy how it’s done well. If you’re going to celebrate the death of originality then you might as well enjoy it while you do.
Reviewer: Jordan Daniel
