Heartsounds' lineup is essentially two ex-members of metalcore act Light This City, but the only remaining trace of that band's days in here is the slight technicality employed on this debut full-length. Otherwise, Until We Surrender is somewhat slick, fast-paced melodic skatepunk both EpiFat halycon-day worshipers and newer-school fans can cling to easy.

Until We Surrender shows a bustling sense of urgency and a knack for keen melody. Guitarist/bassist/drummer Ben Murray does a majority of the vocals, but guitarist Laura Nichol contributes a fair amount too (a handful of verses and a lot of the choruses), so you get a good mix of male and female vocals that keep the album pretty consistent and refreshing. In fact, this album sounds quite a bit like the Swellers, as does Murray like Sweller Nick Diener; Diener actually guests himself on "I Climbed for Miles."

The more catchy, sing-along-able numbers are spread across the album pretty well -- "The Song Inside Me," "Until We Surrender" and "No Way Out" among them. But there's also the more faster ones, like "Walking Dead," "No Way Out" and "Our Last Hope." Either way, the band is pretty adept at both methods and mesh their tactics together well.

Definitely a pleasant surprise and very solid debut.

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Until We Surrender at their Punknews.org profile page