Sunday 31 May 2015

WE HAD A DEAL

GenresPunk / Post-Rock / Post-Hardcore / Emo / Screamo / Hardcore
Related artists?.
CountryLudwigsburg GERMANY
Years Active: 2007-present
Song: "Agnostic Manifests Pinned To A Thousand Trees"
Album: "Counting Leaves"
Year: 2015
Label(s): Self Released / Digital Kunstrasen / Middle Man Records / 100 Kilo Herz / Farblos Records / Walking Is Still Honest Records / Heads Down Records / Pure Heart Records / Skin & Bones Records / Shove Records / Desertion Records / Through Love Records / Unlock Yourself Records / Boslevan Records / Lafine Records / Upwind Records / Fear Of Heights / Deaf Cult Records
This post's artist is from the April 2015 Mix. This is track #5.
You can download: the May Mix#5 right here or get the new June 2015 Mix#6 here.
For fans ofHeart On My Sleeve, O' God The White WhaleEphemera, Voyage In Coma, MilemarkerSnapcase, Inside Out, and WE HAD A DEAL. They really just sound like themselves aka PROPER SCREAMO.

WE HAD A DEAL hail from Germany and have been releasing like fiends for a few years now. They sent me their new record 'Counting Leaves' which I dug and was the catalyst for this review. It further polishes the very distinct sound of the band and comes on a ridiculous looking vinyl. They've released quite a few things since 2008 including an LP, EP and a split LP in the last 3 years. I find it rather hard to pinpoint their style. No, wait, I find it extremely hard and as you have noticed the "for fans of" section is pretty much a barren wasteland. Anyway, I hear a very distinct vocal sound which comes across like Inside Out meets Snapcase, aka almost moshy hardcore and a bit of screamo. Shit I dunno. That's tough. A non-spazzy Shikari? Oh lordy, I'll just stop. Oh wait, Shawn from Coma Regalia/Middle Man Records just showed me O' God The White Whale and that's a great fucking comparison. Heart On My Sleeve aren't too far off, either.

The previous LP 'Dialectics' is on the heavier side of the spectrum, although by this blog's standards its not all that hard. Perhaps I bring it up because the 'Counting Leaves' sounds much more mature and seems to be aiming for a complete sound as opposed to passionate and energetic screamo. I also really, really enjoy the Coma Regalia split 7" that comes in a screened notebook. Amazing stuff.

The band's older material aka everything before 2010 is much more aggressive in the vocal department and leans much more towards hardcore than screamo, in my opinion. I really like the old stuff but it has a different feel from the new stuff.

WE HAD A DEAL pay hella attention to their packaging, lyrical content and the presentation of the general concept of their music. Themes generally run deep in the lyrics and is expressed in the artwork and (generally) massive lyric books. I wish more bands spent the time to flesh out their ideas, as this kind of stuff just seems so damn genuine.

I'm not really sure what else to say. The band is highly original and cannot be pigeonholed. They play with a lot of passion and use a variety of styles and personalities in their presentation. You wanna check it out? Listen to the audio below and make your decision. My guess will be, "yes".

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DISCOGRAPHY

2008 - Man is a Wolf to Man digitalEP (stream/buy here)

2009 - The World Owes You Nothing digital?EP (stream here)

2011 - Three Songs digitalEP (stream/donate/download here)

2012 - Dialectics cassette/12"LP (stream/donate/download here)

2014 - (One) Fumbling for Words (Coma Regalia split) 7"EP (stream/donate/download here)

2015 - Counting Leaves 12"EP (stream/donate/download here)

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(2015) WE HAD A DEAL - "Agnostic Manifests Pinned To A Thousand Trees" (from 'Counting Leaves')

(2015) WE HAD A DEAL - "Y.O.Y.O. (You're On Your Own)" (from 'Counting Leaves')

(2014) WE HAD A DEAL - "Black Rebel Motorcycle Club" (from '(One) Fumbling for Words')

(2012) WE HAD A DEAL - "Setting Fire to the Town-Hall for Different Reasons" (from 'Dialectics')

(2012) WE HAD A DEAL - "A Lack of Words and a Broken Chain of Thoughts" (from 'Dialectics')

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WE HAD A DEAL additional links
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