CD: “Embrace The Fall” by Resin

“Embrace The Fall” is the debut album of Leicester-based grunge five-piece “Resin”, and given that the band were formed in 2006, it has certainly been a long time coming. Resin started out as a three-piece acoustic rock cover band, and only began composing their own songs after swelling to a five-man operation with the addition a full time bass player and drummer.

Resin have long been a popular live act on the underground UK rock scene, clocking up supporting gigs with bands as diverse as Voodoo Six and Fearless Vampire Killers, and playing a wide variety of festivals across the country. With this in mind then, can the album “Embrace the Fall” live up to the band’s excellent live reputation, and in doing so, justify its elephantine gestation period?

At least on the surface, it appears that the answer to this question may be “no”. Embrace The Fall has attracted some harsh criticism for borrowing from its influences (in particular “Alice In Chains”) a little too liberally and failing to establish the band’s own musical identity. Opening number “Entropy” does nothing to dispel these concerns. It’s not unpleasant to listen to, but is somewhat lacking in originality and bite, and feels a bit like musical comfort food for grunge fans.

However, as the album progresses, it becomes clear that to criticise Embrace The Fall as being generic, sub-Alice In Chains-grunge is rather unfair. Resin are clearly a talented set of musicians and their acoustic background has given them a real understanding of melody and how to create a certain mood with their music. The acoustic intro to “Fallen” is one moment that really stands out. It’s evocative, absolutely stunning, and makes excellent use of drummer Mark Abbott’s cello playing skills to suggest a menacing, melancholy atmosphere. “Beskadig” provides another standout moment of the album; it’s a slower song sung in Afrikaans and is truly haunting.

Resin’s music does not have the rich, hypnotic quality many of their influences possess, but in many ways, this is no bad thing. They are not trying to be a copy, or a tribute band, but instead are bringing their own melodic, acoustic angle to the signature grunge sound, without the radio rock choruses of many post grunge bands such as Seether, and they’re not doing a bad job of it at all. Yes, the production on Embrace The Fall often deadens the vocals, but this is a problem common to many new, unsigned bands and not something Resin should be criticised for.

Overall, Embrace The Fall is a slow burning gem of an album that gradually works its way into your brain the more you listen to it, with its bleak and haunting melodies and deeply personal lyrical themes. It’s not a perfect and unflawed masterpiece, but as a debut album and an introduction to Resin’s sound it’s certainly a promising start.

Links
https://www.facebook.com/resinonline
https://plus.google.com/116387549669683666197/posts
https://soundcloud.com/resin-1
http://www.resinband.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/noseypea1

Review by Elinor Day.