ALBUM REVIEW: Casey – How To Disappear

it’s something of a miracle that ‘How To Disappear’ even came to be, let alone for a band like Casey to return from death with their finest album to date

CONTENT WARNING: The review for this album explores the themes of mental illness, death and suicide that are present across the album in some depth, and some may find this upsetting. I will provide resources at the bottom of this page for those who may need them – Ryan 

In 2019, thousands of hearts were broken when melodic hardcore darlings Casey called it quits. 

Two albums into what seemed like a blossoming career, the Welsh band parted ways, citing a desire to move on from the trauma and difficulties that birthed those albums. The band’s complex and honest explorations of depression, suicide, and heartbreak became deeply adored by many in the alternative community, and it was hard to imagine a scene without them.

So frankly, it’s something of a miracle that ‘How To Disappear’ even came to be, let alone for a band like Casey to return from death with their finest album to date. The band reformed in 2022 after much introspection and many difficult discussions, and released the sublime singles ‘Great Grief’ and ‘Atone’, before commencing writing on their third record.

Casey have stated that ‘How To Disappear’ arose from some of the darkest places they had experienced, but was written from a place of peace and acceptance. This is incredibly clear just in the musical choices that appear across this album. Instead of the raw, melodic hardcore rage that featured across their first two efforts, here the band have adopted a dreamy post-rock sort of sound, with far fewer screamed vocals, and a greater focus on melody and ambience.

Across the singles that the band released, this sometimes felt a little strange to listen to, ‘Selah’ in particular with its almost ethereal nature. Some were worried the album would be lacking in the visceral impact that has become expected of Casey’s material. But in the end, that couldn’t be further from the truth; that shimmering splendour of their dreamy new sound, punctuated by moments of heavier aggression, works beautifully in the context of the album format. 

The albums commences with the retrospective beginnings of ‘Unique Lights’, slowly building from nothing to a rapturous cascade of catharsis, vocalist Tom Weaver declaring ‘I need you to know that I’m happier now/Than I’ve ever been’, almost as if a disclaimer for what is about to come. From there, the album ebbs and flows through themes of grief, death, depression, love, and what all of it even means in the end.

‘I Was Happy When You Died’ is a beautifully tender look at the strange joys that can be found in grief, an uplifting tone that only slips away in the dying moments as Weaver softly muses ‘Still all I wanna know is why you disappeared’.  This musically and lyrically ends up tying into the title track at the closing moments of the album in a particularly evocative moment, taking Weaver as a narrator from the death of one individual, to pondering the death of himself.

The aforementioned ‘Selah’ is a beautiful communion between Weaver and God, as Weaver begs to know why his suffering was allowed to persist if God is all loving, and whether heaven has cast him away, all set to a backdrop of a hazy dream of reverb soaked guitars and mellow percussion. 

‘Bite Through My Tongue’ touches upon the breakdown of Weaver’s most recent relationship, and the difficulties of balancing a relationship with the severe symptoms of depression. The choruses particularly pop on this track, with their catchy central melody and  emo tinged riffs and percussion that bounce with energy. The closing track ‘How To Disappear’ also plays out in a similar way musically, with a more straightforwards rock vibe that brings the album to a superb conclusion with one final somber plea: ‘When all I wanna know is how to disappear/It’s all I wanna know’.

Weaver’s lyricism is often spellbinding, but this album in particular features some of his finest to date. Lines such as ‘Is it disregard or discontent, that lures a sparrow to its end?’ paint such a painful yet powerful depiction of depression and suicidal ideation, perfectly exploring both the unintentional and insidious recklessness these things can cause, and the more obvious overwhelming sadness that presses down.

Further brilliance can be found on ‘Those That I’m Survived By’, featuring Weaver’s acute self-awareness of his frequent usage of extended vocabulary in his lyrics, juxtaposed against an inability to simply tell those close to him that he loves them (‘What benefit is eloquence/If I can’t call and tell my friends/That I love them’).  It’s such a deeply human sentiment, wrapped up in lyricism that flows effortlessly between captivatingly verbose and heartbreakingly simplistic.

Throughout the build up to the release of this album, Casey had declared this to be their finest work to date; a bold claim considering the quality of their previous material. Yet it is a claim that ultimately holds up, as ‘How To Disappear’ is the most complete, compelling, and soul-crushingly emotive Casey record to date. Every element, from the musicianship to the lyricism, is crafted with purpose and care, culminating in a body of work that pays great respect to the heavy themes it grapples with.

‘How To Disappear’ truly is a labour of love.

RATING: 84/100 – Very Good

For Fans Of: Holding Absence, Seahaven, Crooks UK, Touché Amoré, Trophy Eyes

Physical copies of the album are available here.

Follow the band on social media below:

Instagram // Spotify // Twitter // Bandcamp

If anyone has been affected by the topics touched upon here, I’ll provide links below to resources that you may find of use.

Samaritans // Campaign Against Living Miserably // Music Minds Matter // Papyrus