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That the debut album from SoCal newcomers Thousand Below is on Rise Records comes as little surprise. But while The Love You Left Too Close checks plenty of the boxes for which the Oregon label has become known, it clearly has ambitions beyond its scene. Opener Sinking Me betrays a sharp pop sensibility (and explains the quintet’s use of Sleeping With Sirens’ mix engineer). Elsewhere, Carry The Weight and The Wolf And The Sea beg to be sung back by festival crowds – although the quality of Wolf’s central simile, ‘Feeling alone like a wolf in the sea’, is another matter entirely. There’s also some quality guitar work throughout courtesy of Josh Thomas and Devin Chance. It’s a better debut than it is a record per se, but fans of (very) melodic metalcore will find plenty to enjoy here.