Album Review: Harvard - The Inevitable and I

Any album that has the production work of Brian Mcternan (Thrice, Circa Survive, Senses Fail) behind it is bound to be of a high standard. That is exactly what Harvard's debut album is 'The Inevitable and I' is. It is a grand sounding, hour-long blend of indie rock and post-hardcore.

From the start the swirling, dreamy guitars compliment Jesse Clasen's soothing vocals, 'French Girls' slides in gently as distant trumpets spurt out distantly whilst Clasen's words creating a intimate atmosphere.

Throughout this intimate atmosphere is created time and time again. 'An End Weight' is beautiful and delicate, as the North Carolina 5-piece gently draw the listener in closer and closer. The same can be said for the title-track, which sweetly closes the album.

The bands more louder, rockier sound is shown well on 'Deliverance', 'Hand to Hesitate' and 'Memory Police', with the latter showing the bands use of the soft-loud-soft structure well. By doing this they show they are able to put variation in their work.

Whereas tracks like 'Hallucinating the Horse' and 'Mister T(th)' are upbeat and showcase a somewhat catchy characteristic of the band, as slight lyrical hooks are used.

As a whole 'The Inevitable and I' flows nearly perfectly, as Harvard enable themselves to create lengthly record that makes good use of the bands musicianship and songwriting abilities. They subtly and sensibly use pop hooks and place them underneath a strong post-hardcore/indie rock foundation, that is somewhat mesmerizing and experimenal. Although the length of the may distract some.

As a debut, 'The Inevitable and I' is a good, strong foundation for Harvard to build on.

4/5

'The Inevitable and I' by Harvard is released on December 1st on Enjoy The Ride Records.

Harvard on MySpace

Sean Reid