ALBUM REVIEW: Counterexpressive – So Long As There Is Quiet

‘…a beautiful, striking, and unique work of art that refuses to adhere to expectations or conventions…’

Hailing from Dallas, Counterexpressive are a band evidently focused on letting their music speak for them; extensive social media statements and self-congratulatory musical biographies are not part of the modus operandi of this emo-adjacent outfit. In 2022, the band put out their debut release, ‘Songs For Austin’, which took the form of a mixtape of sorts, seeing the outfit playfully experiment with a wide variety of sounds and styles.

The silence after this lasted until December last year, when the band released ‘Codenames’, their first original song that featured bassist Caden Large on vocals. The follow-up single, ‘Too Dumb To Turn Around’, would be released at the start of January, and on January 18th, with a distinct lack of fanfare aside from a sincere statement of gratitude to collaborators and supporters, the band’s debut record would release.

‘So Long as There is Quiet’ exists somewhere at the crossroads of post-hardcore, emo and screamo, with a sound that is a perfect coalescence of all of these adjacent scenes. Tracks leap between captivating grooves, dreamy guitar melodies, ferocious screamed vocals, and soaring sung passages, with Counterexpressive managing to perfectly juggle variety with cohesiveness. It is the sound of fragile, painful hope blossoming through the cracks of a bleak soundscape, marrying beauty with brutality.

‘Love Leaves Bodies Entwined’ swings back and forth between alternating rhythms, decorated with a frenzied, desperate, screamed vocals performance, before settling into a sprawling, soaring climax. Lead single ‘Codenames’ leans even more heavily into the band’s screamo side, with Large’s screamed vocals strained to the point of painfully vicious screeches, set against a thunderous hurricane of furious riffs.

‘Always?’ evolves from a stripped-back number with a surprisingly accessible indie-rock flair into hard rocking punk number, with interweaving vocal lines and a driving, ceaseless percussive rhythm. Conversely, something of a complex progressive flair manifests on ‘In Many Ways, We Are the Same. In More, We Are Different’. Dreamy riffs twinkle throughout a sprawling instrumental introduction, whilst gang vocals punctuate a rousing, raucous midsection, and a jangling, whimsical midwest tone takes the reins for the track’s cathartic climax.

It is perhaps the highlights of the record, however, that elevate this body of work from a simply great record to an essential listen. ‘Too Dumb to Turn Around’ is a phenomenal work of art, radiating with the kind of indescribable energy that defines a classic song of a given scene; it is the sort of track that a young music fan will listen to and find so compelling that they will be lead into a world of post-hardcore, emo, and screamo. All at once abrasive and beautiful, complex yet guitar passages dance atop gentle grooves, whilst the track progresses through a stunning spoken word passage.

Furthermore, the soaring melodies of ‘Robbing Peter & Paying Paul’ are nothing short of soul-stirring, especially when contrasted by the track’s morose yet dreamy instrumentals. The subdued nature of the first half of the track makes the vault into the track’s explosive climax all the more shiver-inducing, as it drives forwards with a despairing undercurrent.

All of the aggression and righteous fury comes to a spellbinding conclusion with the simply beautiful closing track, ‘This Rainfall Feels Like An Ending’. In place of complex, abrasive guitar riffs and furious screamed vocals, the band employ simple, stunning acoustic guitar work over gentle, ceaseless rhythms, whilst feathery vocals wrap themselves around the instrumentals. It’s a wonderfully evocative and vulnerable performance that still carries all of the weight of the track’s heaviest moments, but simply delivers that emotive power in a different manner.

It would not surprise me in the slightest if, in five to ten years time, people start pointing to this record as one of the best emo-adjacent records of recent times. What Counterexpressive have crafted here isn’t simply a collection of good tracks, but a beautiful, striking, and unique work of art that refuses to adhere to expectations or conventions. You don’t simply hit the replay button after this album; you are mentally forced to sit and digest what you have just experienced (although, rest assured, before long, you will be hitting that replay button).

In the midst of the hopelessness, hope ceaselessly seeks to bloom, and that sentiment is precisely what ‘So Long as There is Quiet’ conveys. A special, special album.

RATING: 89/100 – Mostly Excellent

For Fans Of: La Dispute, Touché Amoré, State Faults, Bottom Bracket, Careful Gaze

Follow the band on social media below:

Instagram // Spotify // Bandcamp