The way Renae's EP, ...And Hell Follows, opens, you'd guess the band go the route of twangy, southern-tinged melodic indie rock like As Cities Burn did on their final bow. But it's not long before Renae go into an agitated sing/scream formula not unlike that of mid-era Underoath. And then? A proggy, guitar-atmosphere part with reaching vocals that sounds exactly like something out of the Dear Hunter's playbook. All these comparisons are woven throughout repeat points on "Conquest," the song in question, but it feels more like confused and unfortunately derivative stylistic shifts and less like an impressive display of the band's versatility.

That's largely the downfall of this release. Renae ape a variety of certain sounds well, but their take on any is usually unoriginal, and the parts in question refuse to ever coalesce into a cohesive song properly. The band can play, no doubt, evident through some flashy riffing à la the Fall of Troy in "Famine" and the third-rate Glassjaw motifs but better build-up close of "Death" (sense a theme here?), but it's not necessarily enough to be a selling point or a good crutch for the band to lean upon.

...And Hell Follows is all too familiar and dogged with some cohesion issues, but they've certainly the chops to improve on its disarray.

STREAM
Conquest
War
Famine