Album Review: Beau Navire - Hours

Beau Navire’s Hours hearkens back to the emo of yesteryear, a sentiment that should have any genre fan chomping at the bit to get a taste of what this band has to offer. Sure, one can hear a dash of Orchid, and a dash of Saetia, but the real sweetener here is what the band manages to do on their own, and that is craft a wonderful, immense album, worthy of putting them ahead of their peers.

Hours is an intense album, to say the least. Fast, powerful, and emotional, the album is in no way for the faint of heart. Yet therein lays the beauty of it, as Hours is a return to the veritable passions of emo’s storied history; a record that perfectly captures the exhilarating nature of the music before the negative connotations, and before the grossly disproportionate stereotypes.

Hours succeeds not because of nostalgia or endless references, but because Beau Navire are simply great at what they do. Per the usual, the instrumentation is messy and unrefined, but charming in its chaos. However, the guitarist does add quite a bit of flair, making every track distinct and impressively unique. At times “loopy” while at others jagged, the guitars really make the whole piece rather interesting. Vocals are another facet of “Hours” that stands out as excellent. Trei Campbell’s heart erupts with each note he sings, whether it be screamed or sung softly. He adds an immense amount of power to every song, and gives the entire album that certain flavor that makes the whole record so engrossing.

Hours is the definitive emo album thus far in 2011. Brash, brazen, and ultimately beautiful, Beau Navire have crafted an immensely powerful recording that displays what happens when creativity meets inspiration. True, it’s not for everyone, but for those who embrace it, Hours will provide one of the year’s most exciting and enticing listens.

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Tracklist:
1.Hours
2.The Looking Glass
3.A Book, A Mind
4.Reinventing The Wheel
5.Respire (Meta)
6.Cloud City
7.It's Not An Art, It's A Myth
8.Bare Trees
9.Lost And Leaving
10.Interlude
11.Solemn Moon
12.Remnants
13.Respire (Sync)