Sincere

From the opening notes of Haters second album Sincere, its clear that there has been a seismic shift in their approach. Instead of playing sweetly melancholy indie pop that drew heavily on its Swedish heritage, this time the band opt for something darker and heavier. Gone are the jangling guitars, replaced by sharper, more jagged sounds. The New Order-like bass playing has shifted to something weightier, something in the neighborhood of Seamonsters-era Wedding Present. The drums have twice the power, the arrangements are sparse, and the overall sound is raw and immediate. Add in Caroline Landahls oft-devastating vocals, which seem cranked up to match the new sound, and it makes for some thrilling post-punk mixed with post-rock, shoegaze, and just a touch of leftover indie pop sugar in the melodies. Considering they replaced their bassist and drummer with members of post-punk revilaists Fews, its not surprising that they would head down this path. What is shocking is just how well they pull off the switch. The band play like they are in the throes of some really deep turmoil, and every twist and turn, every chord change or drum roll, sounds like it matters. Guitarist Mans Leonartsson, especially, plays like notes are being wrenched out of him with a rusty scalpel and there is real pain in the shards of sound he conjures up on the heavier tracks. His trick bag overflows with clusters of distorted harmonics, speaker-rattling arpeggios, wrist-breaking strums, and ear-piercing solos; each utilized in the service of giving the songs a more powerful impact. Such an impressive display would give even the most rote of songs some kind of lift. Luckily for him, and for the listeners, the songs are all top-notch, whether they rage and spit like the post-punk rocker "Far from a Mind," stalk around menacingly (the aforementioned album-opener "Something"), or whip up giant pools of noisy sadness ("Summer Turns to Heartburn"). As one might expect from their previous work, the band excel again at sad ballads and with the more daring, sometimes explosive arrangements, the emotional ante is upped quite a bit. The dynamic bursts in the chorus of "Renew, Reject" lift the song to tragic status, the lilting, occasionally breaking croon that Landhal uses on "Proven Wrong" is enough to crack the hardest heart, and, again, Leonartsson proves himself the hero on "Brave Blood," where he uses everything he has to take the listener on a journey that traverses moody post-punk riffing and skyscraping shoegaze noise. The band was perfectly fine before, they didnt need to change anything to justify their continued existence. Sincere is a giant leap into the unknown and theyve landed like a superhero. The emotional depth, sonic bravery, and intense songcraft on display are beyond impressive and one would be hard-pressed to find a better example of guitar-based indie rock in 2022, or any year, for that matter. ~ Tim Sendra