The Felix Culpa - Sever Your Roots/Bury The Axe

After self-releasing Sever Your Roots in 2010, indie/post-hardcore act The Felix Culpa signed to No Sleep Records, culminating in this re-release of the album, with three bonus tracks. Collectively these additions make up the EP Bury Your Axe. While not a sharp break from the sound found on Sever Your Roots, the EP tends to focus more on the instrumentals and slightly less on vocals. The result is three tracks which, though less hard-hitting than the emotional material found on Sever Your Roots, stand alone in their own right.

The release begins with "Mallets", a nearly six-minute long instrumental epic. The slow-building track contains some cool ambient parts before building into a bass-heavy, nearly post-rock type atmosphere. Towards the end of the song, however, the post-rock feel is abandoned in favor of meaty riffage. The following "Towers" is decent, but not especially noteworthy especially in comparison to the closer, "Spaces", easily the standout track of the EP. "Spaces" features strong lyrics; the opening line "Let's take the time to reclaim our story/We'll craft each lie from allegory" is especially poignant. The song is most in keeping with the work on Sever Your Roots and proves that this is the style The Felix Culpa should continue to play.

With three solid new tracks, The Felix Culpa show no signs of slowing their momentum as one of the rising bands in the progressive/indie/post-hardcore genre. Hopefully, they continue to release an onslaught of quality work and maintain their status as one of the best new bands in the scene.

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