Expire- Pendulum Swings (Bridge 9)

I don't know if it's just me getting older or whatever, but it seems like a lot of hardcore bands have become stale and overproduced in recent years.  I feel like a lot of bands think that hardcore is just about breakdowns and creating hype for yourself on the internet.  Fewer and fewer bands are taking to the old school method of recording a demo, hitting the road, and meeting tons of people on the way.  In my opinion 2004-08 saw a very small amount of bands take to this approach.  I can't blame people I guess, it is probably far easier and productive to just hype your band up on various social networking sites, rather than risk losing money paying for overpriced gasoline to fill your van along the way.  Luckily, there are still some risk takers out there carrying the torch for hardcore kids both new and old.  One of those bands is Wisconsin's Expire.  I first caught them here in the Winter of 2009 in Rochester with a bunch of mostly forgettable local bands.  The one thing I can say after all these years is that when I hear of a good band doing a DIY tour that is solid hardcore, I will check them out.  I remember being somewhat impressed by Expire that night and then they topped it off with covers of Leeway and Integrity.  Being a somewhat well known band now, I doubt they really have to grab anyone's attention with covers anymore, though I wouldn't mind hearing that Rise and Fall intro again!  Expire's debut full length "PENDULUM SWINGS" picks back up right where their last two EPs left off.  I like many apects of this band and record, including the vocals which aren't too overbearing but still don't really sound like a lot of bands either.  The guitars are what make this record for me though, every mosh part makes me want to break something.  There's a lot of good mosh on this record and while they're not breaking any ground in the music department, the songs are all tight and well written- a quality that is sorely lacking in most current hardcore bands.  In one of the better tours (in my opinion) in years, COLD WORLD, BACKTRACK, DEAD END PATH, and EXPIRE are currently criss-crossing the United States.  They will be playing in Buffalo at the end of the US dates on June 12 and I plan to be there.