As I sat listening through the last song off of Hawthorne Heights’ latest EP, Lost Lights, the realization sank in that they are truly the glue that holds the emo scene together.
While their sound has evolved over the years, in large part their music has stayed relatively the same. For myself and probably many fans, I’m glad they haven’t grown tired of this sound and I love how fully they’ve embraced that emo label. They might be one of the only bands in the genre who’ve never denied their emo-ness! They’ve been staples at all of your favorite rock and scene festivals over the years like Warped Tour, and now in that tour’s absence, they’ve started up their own mini version of that – the Is For Lovers Tour! Thank god they are Ohio boys because I think for as long as this festival goes on, Ohio will always be a stop.
Speaking of that festival, I was really bummed to not be going this year. I hope it did well on its sophomore run so I can actually make it out next year! I think Hawthorne Heights is a band I see almost once every year either on their own, as part of a festival, or opening for some awesome band, but that might be changing this year. I will miss them again on their emo orchestra tour! That sounds so cool! I hope if any other fans out there are around when they swing by your city that you stop out. Enjoy what I cannot.
With all of that being said, I’m sure you’d like to hear my opinions on the new EP. Firstly, I am beyond impressed with how much music they’ve cranked out over the last five years. This has got to be at least their third EP with a full length album thrown out in between! Anyway, this is another strong entry from the band. If you are a fan of any of their past work, I can promise you will not be disappointed by the five tracks offered here. Admittedly, I will need to give this another few listens to really differentiate the tracks, but the lead track, “The Storm” is pretty awesome. It sounded really slick and had the perfect blend of JT’s clean vocals and Matt’s unclean snippets.
Again, go check out the new work by this endlessly devoted emo band that’s probably one of your favorites, too. And go check them out on tour with the orchestra if you can! I know I wish I could!