Haram

Drescher (2007)

Brian Shultz

Not that I have many examples, but there seems to be something about former screamo dudes fulfilling apparent desires to eschew their past in favor of snarling post-hardcore. On Haram's solid second full-length, Drescher, the outfit consisting of ex-members from Pg. 99, City of Caterpillar and Majority Rule churn out a potent blend of styles that brings to mind Drive Like Jehu tempered by the quiet experimentation of mid-era Fugazi.

Clocking in at nine songs spanning a shade over a half-hour, Drescher nevertheless opens with the 4:00+ "Drescher Clock" and lead vocals reminiscent of a younger Rick Froberg. Four members here handle vocal duties though, so you're always offered a different layer to the consistent smattering of jaunty, distorted guitars. There's also a song like "M Greene" with its excellent stop-start drum fills, varied guitar tones and catchy refrain, and "Centrum" which features a rare offering of raw screams buried in the mix.

On "Never Sleep" and especially "Death Blues," the band mellow out enough to garner similarities to the Argument-era of the aforementioned; not that the band acts out too wildly on Drescher, but it's an even greater reservation here not normally seen on the album and it's consequently refreshing.

Bolstered by a thick but not necessarily overwhelming recording by Jim Siegel, Drescher is a dependable effort that might continue to swap in its members' ingrained intensity for angularity, but is enjoyable all the same.

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Drescher Clock