Band:	Better Lovers
Album:	Highly Irresponsible
Style:	Math metal, Metalcore
Release date:	October 25, 2024
A review by:	RaduP

01. Lie Between The Lines
02. Your Misplaced Self
03. A White Horse Covered In Blood
04. Future Myopia
05. Deliver Us From Life
06. Drowning In A Burning World
07. Everything Was Put Here For Me
08. Superman Died Paralyzed
09. At All Times
10. Love As An Act Of Rebellion

Take a large scoop of Every Time I Die and add some The Dillinger Escape Plan and Fit For An Autopsy toppings. And I meant not just in sound but also in lineup.

Considering that Better Lovers's lineup is mostly comprised of members from hugely influential bands that have disbanded, it does make it seem like this project is a spiritual successor to at least one of them. Having 3/5 of Every Time I Die's last lineup now be 3/5 of Better Lovers's current lineup means that they're the prime candidate, and indeed comparing the sound of the two bands validates this view. But because the vocals are handled by someone not from that band, namely ex-The Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist Greg Puciato, means that the most visible element (well, more like audible) is giving a different flavor. And then there's guitarist William Putney, founding member of Fit For An Autopsy, and though I have yet to uncover any deathcore in Highly Irresponsible, Putney's contributions in End are more likely to be a better point of reference here.

Of course that when such a supergroup structured band bursts into the scene, the instinct is to push the lineup connections to the forefront, and to compare the band's current sound to the members' original sounds. It's only natural. When the band is billed higher than Full Of Hell on their recently announced tour, do you think it is based on the strength of what they did as Better Lovers, or because their reputation from their previous bands precedes them? Even more so when, due to the absence of said previous bands, Better Lovers is more than mere side project. But also Better Lovers is, in some regards, its own thing.

So to see Highly Irresponsible (and the preceding debut, the God Made Me An Animal EP) as a mix of Every Time I Die and The Dillinger Escape Plan is perfectly valid. My expectation was, especially because I heard Greg's vocals on it, that it would have a higher mathcore presence. And mathcore is there, just like it was already part of Every Time I Die's sound, so this sound being continued from two directions blends pretty well, just not as a forefront sound. It feels like there's a bigger presence of alternative metal, one that blends the southern twang of Every Time I Die with the grungier sounds on Greg Puciato's latest record, though there's more of the former than the latter.

And, now that I've assessed Highly Irresponsible mostly from the position of its progenitor bands, on a whole as a metalcore albums it captures the exciting essence of both southerncore and mathcore in a manner that feels like it might be an easier springboard into them than most of the originals' actual records. I'm sure that as time goes on and releases pile up, I'll feel less of a need to constantly bring up who is who and what sound comes from which band. For now though, I'm glad there's something to scratch the lingering itches so well.