The Louisville, Kentucky music scene is undoubtedly catching fire. With the release of Greyhaven’s monumental album, Cult America, and the Pop Culture EP from Knocked Loose released in 2014 , there is no sign of the momentum stopping. Both bands take the idea of hardcore or metalcore music and do new and innovative things with the genres. That’s made very clear with Knocked Loose’s newest release, Laugh Tracks, which dropped Friday, September 16th.

Laugh Tracks was one of my most anticipated albums of 2016. I was captivated by Pop Culture‘s anger and relatability, with intense lyrics and ridiculously heavy breakdowns bringing out the rage in whoever listened. It was clear, however, with the release of the three pre-order tracks (“Oblivions Peak,” “Deadringer,” and “The Rain”), that Laugh Tracks was a different type of resentment. The anger was focused and political. It had a purpose. This was confirmed in an Alternative Press exclusive article (featuring a FULL album stream before release), the lead singer Bryan Garris explained, “The underlying theme of our demo was anger. But with this album, I stopped being angry for the sake of being angry. I had to reach inside of me to get something worthy of an album.” Garris has tapped into a core of inspiration that truly evolves the lyrics from angry and angsty to thought-provoking and acute.

The album starts off hard and doesn’t quit until the very last chord played in the concluding song “Laugh Tracks.” Halfway through the album brings one brief break from the distortion, the song “Counting Worms” starts of quiet and ethereal, but culminates in an “ARF ARF” that slams us into a breakdown. Yes, Garris bark-screams and it is glorious. Overall, this album delivers what you would expect from a debut, it is packed full of breakdowns, intense lyrics, and intricate guitar riffs. It’s clear that they’ve evolved in every way possible since their EP and I’m guessing their success with Laugh Tracks will make them a name everyone knows. 5/5