Josh Eppard was never going to be involved in an album that wasn’t interesting and compelling. The Coheed And Cambria co-founder has always seemed to enjoy a different challenge, and with Held. he’s found one.
For this one, he’s teamed up with Douglas Robinson and Sal Mignano, both of The Sleeping. Together, they’re making something that gets called post-hardcore, which gives you somewhere to start, but there’s a fair bit more going on here than that label suggests.
“Defending The Earth” is almost punk in its attack, but the tiredness in the words gives it another dimension. There’s a weariness hanging over much of “Grey”, a sense of people trying to drag themselves through whatever comes next. The music might be forceful, but the emotions driving it are often considerably more fragile.
“New You Anthem” features Frank Iero, and its angular guitar provides the backdrop for Robinson’s insistence that “I’m not falling apart right now”. He sings it as though he’s trying to convince himself as much as anyone listening. That tension between the sound and the sentiment is one of the things that makes this so compelling.
“Constant Tension” probably passes for a ballad in this company. Even here, though, there’s an unease that refuses to settle. Held. don’t seem particularly interested in offering easy reassurance, and the vulnerability in these songs gives them their weight.
“Knifepoint”, featuring High Vis, underlines something else about the record. Give it a couple of listens and it becomes really accessible. That goes for the whole thing, actually. What initially feels a little impenetrable starts to reveal itself, and before long you’re finding your way around songs that seemed determined to keep you at a distance.
It remains a dense, heavy record, as “Waves Of Fire” proves. Yet there’s plenty of light and shade, appropriately enough on the song called “Grey”. Those changes matter. Across ten tracks, there’s room for the music to breathe, and the shifts in mood make the heavier moments hit harder.
“I And I Against You All” has a neat line in sloganeering, with “Don’t do me any favours” carrying just the right amount of defiance. “Through The Cracks” keeps the interest levels high, too. There always seems to be something going on here, another detail to draw you further in.
“Broken Spacesuit (Decay & Sand)” changes the vibe completely, opening up another side of the record before “Emptiness: A Side Effect” brings it to a cinematic conclusion. “All part of your charm,” Robinson sings, as if it’s the last thing he means. The song covers some ground with its anguish, and by the end it feels as though Held. have travelled a considerable distance.
These are the side projects I’ve always loved: experienced musicians getting together because there’s something they want to explore. Nothing about “Grey” feels like an album made to fulfil a contractual obligation. It has the urgency of something they needed to make, something they needed to get out of themselves.
That’s a different feeling altogether. And it runs through every part of this record.
