Conduit – “Life On Repeat” [Album Review]

It’s taken West Midlands melodic post-hardcore quartet Conduit six years to get to the stage where they’re ready to drop their debut album which, for any band, is pushing it a bit. Credit must go then to their loyal fan base for sticking by the band over that time and hopefully their patience will be rewarded?

Citing influence from post-hardcore/punk heavyweights like Haste The Day, Underoath and Rise Against, it doesn’t take long into Life On Repeat for those influences to start to seep into Conduit’s melodic, soaring sound. An undeniably likeable record, songs like “The Road” see the Coventry outfit take most of the components of the post-hardcore genre – delicious, room-filling melodies, clean and harsh vocals and massive choruses – and work them into an end result that you can’t really dislike. The problem is that, for all the positivity and pleasant air of tracks like “Let Your Breath Become Your Sound,” Life On Repeat just kind of feels like you’ve heard it all before and, well, is that acceptable for an album that has been six years in the making? Probably not.

Having toured the length and breadth of the UK, it’s clear from listening to Life On Repeat that Conduit have really fine-tuned their sound. In frontman Dave Boyle, they’ve got a man whose soaring vocals marry up seamlessly with the driving, effortless feel of the music but, and you can call me picky here, I just expected that little bit more from a group who’ve spent six years on this album. Yes, Life On Repeat is a good recording but, sadly, not one that really stands out in an extremely oversatured genre.

Track listing:

01. Eyes Wide Shut
02. Sovereign
03. The Road
04. Others
05. Pulled From The Water
06. Interlude
07. Let Your Breath Become Your Sound
08. Outstretched Arms
09. We Were Kings

Run Time: 35:15
Release Date: June 1, 2015

Check out the video for “Others” here.