Send "Defeater " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Sputnikmusic |
 Modern hardcore as a whole is going through a kind of rebirth at the moment. After indulging in the excesses of the Myspace age, it is once again trying to find its soul. Luckily for fans of the genre, the bands that followed in the footsteps of turn of the millennium groups like Eighteen Visions and their hair metal sins of fashion and indulgence are now dying a slow death, and a new crop of talented bands that are just as concerned about progressing the genre as they are about staying true to their roots has emerged. Out of all of the bands spearheading this new generation of hardcore, Defeater have firmly positioned themselves at the top with their debut Travels and follow up EP Lost Ground, both of which follow a unique story telling slant based on in depth character studies. It seemed that as soon as the final notes from Lost Ground rang out in many a hardcore kid's stereo, the anticipation for another Defeater album began to build, and when the band decided to release the Dear Father teaser EP that anticipation reached a fever pitch. But now with a new Defeater album firmly in our grasps, how does Empty Days and Sleepless Nights fare when put up against their near flawless back catalog? Empty Days and Sleepless Nights is at its heart very much in tune with the catharsis that brought us Travels, taking the raw energy and honest emotion of bands like Modern Life Is War, to whom Defeater owe a large chunk of their sound, and melding it with a superb sense of storytelling hardly found in the genre. Unfortunately, for the first time in their career, it seems as though there is something missing. The formula used on Empty Days and Sleepless Nights is the same blueprint as used on their previous albums, and where Travels thrived off of its unpredictable nature, the same bobs and weaves don't have the same effect because we've heard them all before. It almost makes every build up seem anticlimactic given that you can see what lies ahead in just over the horizon. The only real surprise on Empty Days and Sleepless Nights is Defeater's choice to expand on the moment of acoustic brilliance that was the latter half of “Prophet in Plain Clothes” from Travels into four tracks of jangly, low key folk songs. Unfortunately these songs come off as more as an afterthought when compared to the first disc of the release. Furthermore, even though vocalist Derek Archambault tries to be another Rocky Votolato or Conor Oberst, it becomes apparent rather quickly that, despite his best efforts, he is neither Rocky Votolato or Conor Oberst....full text |
| Music.is-amazing |
| Massachusetts-based Defeater has been hailed as "a new artistic peak for hardcore" by Punknews.org and their sophomore full-length release, "Empty Days & Sleepless Nights", further cements the accolade. Empty Days & Sleepless Nights is a fourteen-song double LP (single CD) and the first four tracks showcase a new, acoustic side of the band that sounds a lot like Rocky Votolato and Ryan Adams. However, they return to their hardcore roots and deliver ten huge-sounding, heavy and catchy tracks to round out the album. Empty Days & Sleepless Nights is an absolute masterpiece....full text |
| Asice |
| Though there are still new bands around that make me all excited about hardcore, none of them manages to release a record that make me want to listen to only that one record for a week in a row. However great a record may be there are still enough other records I want to hear in a week. Defeater is probably the exception to that rule. I have to admit that the first time I heard 'Empty Days', I was a bit dissapointed. After the 'Lost Ground' ep I expected the band to come up with ten versions of 'The Red, White and Blues' I guess and they didn't. 'Dear Father' is a song that could have been on the 'Lost Ground' ep but tracks like 'Empty Glass' and 'White Oak Doors' show a band that has progressed from their 'Travels' debut and dare to go further. Some parts of those songs remind me a bit of Touche Amore's 'To The Beat Of A Dead Horse' while other songs give me the same feeling as I had when I first heard American Nightmare's debut 7". With 'Empty Days' Defeater probably released one of the best records of 2011 and one of those few classics that come around each year. If that's not enough there's also 'Sleepless Nights' four great acoustic songs which are as good as any material by Chuck Ragan or other punkrock singersongwriter hot shots. 'I Don't Mind' is a song that finds a place in your mind and doesn't leave for days....full text |
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