Album Review

This Dying Hour – Longest memory from the shortest life E.P.

• 31st Oct 2007

Coming across as a gang assault the six members of This Dying Hour, attack the senses with every section of music they have –but how can they throw so many punches and none of them hit the target?

The football chants of ‘Wycombe till I die’ just don’t sit well with the sophisticated feel and production of the album, which points to a more developed and involved sound, when they approach more wider subjects for example the relationship within ‘The longest memory from the shortest life’ there is movement both musically and lyrically.

There are moments that approach individuality and invention-the ending to ‘How to use guns’ works if only for its swamping heavy chug.

It’s not as complicated as three guitarists might point too either, but there is some breathing room required, there is a wealth of ideas here both subtle and brutal-just no completed ones as it often goes in several directions at once.

This wide scope and multiple direction would have been the kiss of death for an album, but let’s not forget here-this is an e.p and as such represents as much experimentation as inexperience. It does point to an album of weight and substance, if only very briefly; This dying hour do have more to say it’s just this brief conversation yields no real statement.