It is not until a band evolves and transforms their sound that they are able to unleash their fullest potential. With their last album Don’t You Feel Amazing? in 2021, British alternative rock outfit Trash Boat proved there was more to them than Pop Punk. With their fourth album Heaven Can Wait (Hopeless Records), the band has found their footing in their own unique blend of Rock, Metal, Punk, and experimental elements, taking the most captivating aspects of each to bring their brutal and contemplative vision to life.
Setting the stage with an eerie soundscape backdropping arpeggiated guitar lines and melancholic vocals, the introduction track “Watching Heaven…” draws you in while the following heavy hitter “…Burn” orders you to take a seat. The eerie effects begin to multiply as the first of many booming and blaring riffs breaks in. It’s not long until jumbled layers of screams, vocal fry, and guitar screeches immediately confirm the album as Trash Boat’s heaviest and most intense work yet. The song stays true to its title, wielding a slow-burning chorus, scorching instrumentals, and an overall apocalyptic tone.
The band shows a promising aptitude for Metalcore in the uproarious “Be Someone” with pummeling drums, a riotous breakdown, and a feature from I Prevail’s Eric Vanlerberghe. Then there’s the Linkin Park-influenced “filthy-RIGHTEOUS” featuring Kenta Toie of Crossfaith, putting Trash Boat’s Nu Metal prowess on full display.
Standout single “Better Than Yesterday” is a downpour of unconcealed emotion that presents Trash Boat at their best. Feeble vocals sing lyrics about comparison-thieving fulfillment, making every chorus hit harder with catastrophic instrumentals and the repeated line “I know that I’ll find a way.” The utter devastation is instantly contagious from vocalist Tobi Duncan’s delivery, making this one of the band’s most unforgettable tracks to date.
“The Drip” is driven by bitcrushed fuzz and declarative spoken word that builds into brazen screams. Heaven Can Wait is full of lyrics that are written to make you think, but this song lays it out in the most obvious, blatant way possible. It sounds like a political protest at a rock show, spitting bold lines like “Most models for social studies do very little to open the public’s imagination to radical change, perpetuating the idea that there is nothing to be done.” On the contrary, closer “Lazy” takes a shoegaze-y approach, drowning your ears in a sea of swirling and rumbling sounds.
Heaven Can Wait is a call to action, stating that we have a lot of work to do on Earth before we go to heaven. Trash Boat paints a picture more clear and vivid than ever with this album, making it an effective motivator for both fighting the system and opening a mosh pit.
Buy the album here:
https://ffm.to/heavencanwaittb
8 / 10
COLLEEN KANOWSKY