Better Lovers – Highly Irresponsible (Review)

Better Lovers, consisting of members from chaotic hardcore legends Every Time I Die, The Dillinger Escape Plan and Fit For An Autopsy, are the wet dream of every 2000s metalcore lover. After both initially mentioned band‘s rather messy demises, Jordan Buckley and his fellow ETID rhythm mates, quickly spread the news that they were working on establishing a more or less direct follow-up to what was one of the genres most consistent and beloved acts. After months of speculation on who would complete the line-up, the revelation of none other than The Dillinger Escape Plan‘s madman Greg Puciato as a frontman and the Dr. Dre of metal, Will Putney as second guitarist, made jaws and panties drop alike.

The bands first EP God Made Me An Animal rightfully gained momentum with staggering bangers such as the pre-released and instant classic “30 under 13” and solidified the band as a houshold name over night. Now with Highly Irresponsible, which cover perfectly encapsulates the bands sense of sarcastic humor, the group presents us their first full length installment. But with a line-up this stacked, how can Better Lovers live up to the expectations?

Production and performance-wise, noone should be surprised that everything sounds extremely punchy, tight as a motherfucker and simply huge. Although technically a debut, I think it’s fair to say, noone expected anything subpar. The high-octane bluesy tinged hardcore riffing of Jordan Buckley is still intact and keeps the good times rolling during swaggering cuts like pre-released single “A White Horse Covered In Blood” or the stomping opener “Lie Between The Lines”, which is accompanied by some sleazy leads provided by Putney and an experienced and zoned in rhythm department. Puciato tears his vocal chords to shreds, especially during the records back-half, but also manages to offer melodic counterpoints during the more relaxed tunes “Deliver Us From Life” and “At All Times”, which even evokes some Circa Survive vibes during its uplifting chorus. His manic and dynamic performance leaves no doubt that he is the perfect fit for the band, showing even more confidence than on the bands previous releases.

Soncially, Highly Irresponsible is basically sounding as a combination of the members other or former bands reads on paper. All the ingredients are there and executed perfectly. You have the moshpit anthems like “Your Misplaced Self” which is straight up ripping you another on in just one and a half minute and the beloved panic chord breakdowns such as in the absolute barnburner that is “Superman Died Paralyzed” mixed with more lofty songs and passages that offer enough variation to keep your attention at all points.

With a runtime of roughly 35 minutes the record is concise and poignant, leaving no space wasted or unfocused. Sure, the band is not re-inventing the wheel with Highly Irresponsible or highly differentiating itself from its immediate predecessors but that should not shy away from the fact that these guys are still masters at their craft.

Better Lovers deliver all the promises made with their high-energy, albeit a bit safe debut full length Highly Irresponsible, demonstrating song-writing prowess, dynamic curveballs and straight up pit anthems, that should get all hopes up that we are going to receive further material by them more years to come.

As Greg Puciato initally texted the rest of the band “Let’s give these motherfuckers what they want” before joining the band, we can now confirm, they did. And yeah, they absolutely fuck, live.