Architects

On their fourth album, Architects present their most polished and coherent release, a move that will certainly draw new listeners, but it will also alienate fans of their more chaotic and technical material. The English quartet almost completely abolish their metalcore tag, leaning toward melodic hardcore throughout the majority of the album's ten tracks. "Delete, Rewind" is one example of their use of prominent gang vocals and breakdowns before ushering in clean vocals very reminiscent of Alexisonfire. "Day in Day Out" is one of the fiercer songs, opening with crashing cymbals and a guitar riff in the bottom of the mix, before Sam Carter unleashes an absolutely fantastic scream that pushes the song forward. On the opposite end, "An Open Letter to Myself" is soft ballad that strains Carter's vocal reach, until the song formulaically explodes at the end. The Here and Now certainly isn't a failure ― the melodies are catchy and enjoyable, and the heightened hardcore influence comes through fairly well ― but there are no moments that reach beyond what's already been done, causing the album to be stuck at "good, but I'd rather listen to something else" status.