We're Doomed

Sometimes it's easy to use a band's youth as way to excuse their uninhibited missteps or as a pat on the back for their yet unperfected efforts. But in the case of We're Doomed, bringing it up is generally out of surprise ― not because they don't sound their age, because they do, but because it's rare to hear a young band have such a tight grasp on so many aspects of their music. From the ambitious and well-calculated arrangements to the skilled and often joyous performances, and the textured, big-picture production (all of which helped them win a spot on Warped Tour this past summer), We're Doomed hit the ground running on Like A Machine. The Halifax, NS quartet nail the sort of progressive post-hardcore-laced rock that the Mars Volta stick with, swirling in and out of some psych here and there as well. If the youth card is going to be played, it'd be for their penchant for riffing, a lot, but the complexity and maturity of a track like "The Rise of the Mammoth Lord," with the addition of violin, bring the band's strength and depth back into focus.