BETTER LOVERS
Highly Irresponsible
SharpTone Records
Photo Credit: Gabe Becerra
Formed around the core of the former EVERY TIME I DIE, BETTER LOVERS is something of an alt-metal supergroup rounded out by KILLER BE KILLED/ex-DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN frontman Greg Puciato and FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY guitarist/veteran producer Will Putney. It's a formidable lineup, to be sure, and with the four-song EP God Made Me An Animal, issued in July 2023 a few months after joining forces, and two standalone singles since then, it showed just what a combustible combination the sum of its parts really was.
But could BETTER LOVERS maintain its fiery disposition over the "long haul" of a full album once that initial creative burst had subsided? Or would familiarity breed a sense of comfort and dim the flame, especially since all five members had all been around the block a few times and could easily be jaded by their experiences?
Well, the comfort level only seems to have thrown more briquettes onto the barbie. The band's debut full length, Highly Irresponsible, builds on the manic energy and raw-boned heaviness of the EP, adding a level of confidence and purpose that makes everything badder and bolder while retaining the urgency and immediacy. It is loud, boisterous and coursing with intensity.
The BETTER LOVERS sound will be somewhat familiar to fans of the membership's current and former acts. It takes the metal/core heft and grit of EVERY TIME I DIE - whose guitarist Jordan Buckley, bassist Stephen Micciche and drummer Clayton "Goose" Holyoak make up 60 percent of the lineup - with some of the recklessness and dexterity exemplified by DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, and the eccentricities both shared in equal measure. And while you won't hear much of deathcore presence in the material - save for moments of the propulsive, rather tastelessly titled "Superman Died Paralyzed" - Putney's production and musical muscle give the album plenty of authority and wallop.
"Lie Between The Lines" kicks things off with a djenty thrum that really lays on the heavy before things take a frantic turn with the 1:41 thrash metal blast of "Your Misplaced Self" and then get a little weird with "A White Horse Covered In Blood" as its rollicking crunch and infectious choruses are interspersed by Puciato's spoken word-like ramble that recalls MINISTRY's "Jesus Built My Hotrod".
Highly Irresponsible finds Puciato in his element, as he uses his astonishing range - from stirring cleans to bug-eyed screams and growls - and purposeful delivery to their fullest. And his escapades are a perfect fit for the band's emphatic, gymnastic histrionics, as onthe careening "Future Myopia", "Drowning In A Burning World" and "Love As An Act Of Rebellion", the album's "math-metalliest" tracks.
Yet for all the clamor, spasmodics and noise, there are some moments of relative restraint. The breathy vocals, mellow start and steely atmospherics of "Deliver Us From Life" echo DEFTONES punctuated by DOWN-like slithering grooves. Even more listener friendly is the ballad-like "At All Times", an outlier with its piano-tinged calm and understated heaviness. Both help lend variety to the album and provide a brief respite before the band goes off again.
And Highly Irresponsible is all about abandon. It's 40 minutes of raucous, occasionally offbeat fun by a band that has maintained its initial spark and is now firing on all cylinders after a year of working and touring together. Sure, these types of "supergroup" situations do have a way of burning out rather than fading away, so BETTER LOVERS may be an enjoy it while you can proposition. But there is certainly plenty here to enjoy.
4.0 Out Of 5.0
