Not Now, Not Ever

With its eight songs clocking in at a mere 15 minutes, Another Breath's 2004 debut Not Now, Not Ever haunts that nameless ether between EP and LP — oh, like any of that matters in the face of their surprisingly vicious and accomplished hardcore assault. Fact is, the upstate New York natives make the best of the time allotted them, spewing all manner of bile and fury in minute-and-a-half outbursts like "Racing a Fading Image," "Token," and the not-nearly-as-long-as-advertised "17 Minutes." All of these deal in hardcore's most basic — but always effective — tenets: hyper-speed rhythms, punk rock riffs on steroids, and realistic, socially-minded lyrics, to great effect. So much so, that variations from the formula come few and short-between, but do include fourth track "Clio," which at least opens with a few melodic strains, and the relatively epic-lengthened (three whole minutes!) "Truth in the Television," which goes hog-wild by comparison with its dynamic time-changes, added harmonies, and even unexpected but well-placed handclaps. All told, there's virtually nothing "new" going on here, but true hardcore devotees will likely find these eight songs impossible to resist.