Fake History

Album Review

As a genre grows increasingly homogenous, it seems less and less likely for a band to break free of its safe orbit to try and do something different. Even a nebulous genre like post-hardcore that was initially so diverse can become formulaic given enough time. That’s why it’s so refreshing when a band comes along that’s willing to mix it up, as is the case with Letlive and their third album, Fake History. Originally released in 2010 on Tragic Hero and reissued (with a few bonus tracks) in 2011 on Epitaph, the album shows that Letlive are easily able to break away from the rest of the pack with an album that’s both frantic and sprawling. Not content to just stick to the tried and true formula of verse/chorus/breakdown/repeat, Fake History evokes the meandering prog rock of At the Drive-In, sprinkling the album with enough twists and turns to keep things from getting stale without ever getting lost inside their own heads and losing themselves in an cloud of swirling, esoteric riffage. This kind of focus allows Letlive to strike an enjoyable balance in songs like “Enemies (Enemigos)” and “Homeless Jazz,” where heaviness and headiness coexist rather than collide, giving the songs a flow that’s more rolling hills than peaks and valleys. So nice it had to be released twice, Fake History is an album that really cements Letlive's place in the vanguard of the current crop of modern post-hardcore, making for an album that will not only please longtime fans, but could also pique the interest of some of the genre’s disenfranchised old guard.