The twenty-five seconds of intro feedback on the Sky We Scrape’s ‘Broken Ladders’ EP elicit deep memories of bro-heavy hardcore shows in legion halls—that familiar tension conjures images of muscular, young men in black jeans and t-shirts, armed with electric guitars and bent at both knees before half-stacks in a battle-ready power stance. The imposing warriors of aggressive rock pogo up and down with their backs to the crowd, adrenaline mounting. “Get ready,” whispers the feedback. “Get pumped. We are very, very serious.”
It’s something of a surprise to hear clean, melodic vocals follow the record’s doomy intro, but less so when thinking in terms of a band’s desired image. While the long hum of amplifiers doesn’t explode into ‘Dopesmoker’ in the slightest, this is certainly an EP and a group that wants to be taken seriously. But the band’s overall sound is far less threatening, less boorish than its frame. These songs hearken back to material that most bands would hesitate to cite as influential—ever-brooding, yet accessible mid-00s fuse rockers like Story of the Year, Senses Fail and even tidbits of Thursday come to mind. And perhaps that’s a good thing.
The Sky We Scrape isn’t doing anything novel on ‘Broken Ladders’, but the music is familiar, even nostalgic in a puzzling sense. A lack of playfulness (the real remnant of TSWS’s aforementioned forebears) might do the band a disservice, but it’s certainly a respite from the stoned, apathetic grin that’s dominated indie rock for the past few years. This EP pays homage to a style that most bands shelved for something hotter years ago—the question is, who’s listening?
DAVID SATTERWHITE