The nu metal and emo movements frequently (and deservedly) copped a lot of flak for their whiny and self-referential lyrics – and yet, no doubt due to a widespread misunderstanding of Converge’s lyrical output, an increasing number of hardcore-leaning outfits are perpetrating similar crimes against lyricism.
There are limits, however, and the abysmally angsty, ‘poor me’ tripe of Everyone Leaves ought to be enough evidence to convict its creators, Boston-based quintet Great American Ghost, to a lengthy sentence. ‘Everyone I know can’t stand me/I make their fucking skin crawl’ opines vocalist Ethan Harrison during the Converge-in-pyjamas slop of Anxious Alone.
Elsewhere, while the buzzsawed guitars and barrelling drumwork are ferocious enough to crack teeth, the reference points are so derivative (Trap Them, Black Breath) that the likes of Shiver and Misery feel more like exercises in musical magpie-ism than genuine outpourings of grief. ‘Everything is wasted on me,’ crows Ethan during the title track. Your attention certainly is.
