Album Review: World View - 'Waking Up 7"'

If you’ve been paying attention to the global hardcore scene for the last few years, you’ll find a slew of bands both international (Turnstile, Blacklisted, Angel Du$t) and local (Break Even, Endless Heights) that have pushed on from their early, visceral hardcore roots into a space that has more in common with Rites of Spring and Fugazi, than indomitable pit legends like Bane or Terror. Now depending on which side of the sonic spectrum you may find yourself, this is either a good (read: great) thing or something that you really don’t give a shit about. If you’re in the former category, then Adelaide upstarts World View have dropped a shiny new collection of bangers just for you.

After their 2014 demo, World View put their heads together and started writing for their first formal release. In an act so brazen, yet full of level-headed common-sense, this young, Windy City five-piece decided that the final product wasn’t up to snuff, so they scrapped it and started all over again. Thankfully, that bout of withering self-reflection produced ‘Waking Up’: five sobering tracks of dejected and melodic punk-infused hardcore.

‘Neurosis’ and ‘No Fool’ kick things off with punchy drum fills, bouncing over the top of jangly guitars that ooze and permeate like bad thoughts in a drug-induced haze. The soundscapes on offer here are reminiscent of Title Fight’s ‘Hyperview’ and its ode to all things shoegaze, and with Will Yip at Studio 4 handling the mixing and mastering of ‘Waking Up’, it’s a connection that begins to make a whole lot of sense. Shades of shame, loss, and bitter melancholy are woven into emotional tracks like ‘May’ and stand-out ‘I Wish’, as buzz-saw guitars and half-time rhythms punctuate the spaces between cutting lyrical refrains like "There's no way that I can leave my bed/With this overwhelming sense of dread," and “As time goes on/Thoughts of you start to fade/How I wish you’d stay.”

Closer ‘Haunt’ provides a fitting send-off for ‘Waking Up’, with lush, driving guitars acting as the instrumental backbone for exorcising some personal demons. The opening phrase “Guilt haunts me eternally” hangs precariously over the track until the mid-section comes to an abrupt end with a “Stop!” vocal chant, before descending into a massive riff break and barrelling onward into a fast, tempo change for a rousing finish.

There’s a lot to like on ‘Waking Up’. For fans of punk and hardcore, this release never loses focus and there’s plenty of riffs, rhythms and vocals begging for floor-show antics. If you like things a bit slower and evocative, the sombre instrumental moments on offer in the moodier sections of the release help to craft a sense of painful urgency that’s driven relentlessly forward with melody and determination. World View should be stoked on their efforts with ‘Waking Up’ and it should serve as a guide for fellow musicians. Sometimes it’s OK to wipe the slate clean, start fresh and never be afraid to admit that you can do better.

1. Neurosis
2. No Fool
3. May
4. I Wish
5. Haunt

You can stream/digitally purchase 'Waking Up' here right now. Like, right now! Physical pre-orders can be snagged here.