The early 2010s saw the peak of post-metal and melodic hardcore of a certain flavor that really hasn’t been seen since. Bands like Rinoa, A Hope for Home, Echoes, *shels, and The Elijah brought a powerful mix of post-rock and hardcore influences together. And while this movement was pretty brief, Dreambound became one of my primary outlets of discovering bands adjacent to this sound.
And while Dreambound’s coverage has fluctuated given trends in the scene, Bouquet was an incredible find earlier this year that hearkens back to 2008-2012. It’s emotional, intense, and high-energy. If you’re not familiar with the previous list of reference bands, La Dispute and Touché Amoré might be more recognizable influences, though the saturation of clean vocals certainly sets Bouquet apart. It’s the heavier moments that feel ornamental, not the melodic ones.
Cardinal opens with “Peony”, a that could be mistaken as an intro based on its 1:34 runtime. But no, this a proper track in its own right and feels longer than reality. Screamed-spoken vocals give away to soaring cleans as wall-of-sound guitar rolls over like ocean waves.
“Tire Swing” is definitely a great starting point if you wanted to get a sense of what Bouquet can do. The group waste no time showing every trick in their arsenal – punchy, Touché Amoré-styled rhythms pair with a mix of screaming and explosive clean moments. There’s no build, either – within the first few seconds, you’ll be rocking out. The chorus is a highlight, and a guest vocal contribution from Kayak Jones is yet another strong touch.
“Glisten” was the band’s lead single and is what initially caught my attention; in retrospect, it’s one of the less interesting tracks. Don’t get me wrong – it’s a great song. But it’s definitely a bit safer than some of its counterparts and seems like the ballad of the mix, resting solely on clean vocals. On its own, it conveys a smaller dynamic spectrum than what Bouquet can actually deliver.
While “Seed” is another clean-only track, it manages to crank up the energy and dynamics a bit. There’s more intensity in the vocal delivery, and there’s a bit of a crescendo as well. Sadly, the song sits around two minutes and ends pretty quickly.
Remember my earlier reference to The Elijah? “Southpaw” is straight out of that playbook. There’s plenty of layered, reverb-laden chord smashing here. The tone feels angelic and huge. But the dynamic is always in flux, with the wall of guitars pulling back to leave screamed vocals over naught more than drums and delay trails. Clean vocals come in as a tag in true The Elijah fashion. And eventually, all the aggression fades into ambient guitars that trail into silence.
Ultimately, there’s not much to complain about regarding this release. It’s a promising debut that toys with all kinds of flavors that I enjoy. Like I said, bands haven’t tapped into this sound for almost a decade now, and it’s refreshing to hear a new incarnation of some of my favorite artists ever. There’s certainly room for the group to refine their balance between clean and screamed parts, as it seems like individual tracks to tend to favor one or the other. And with some of the tracks being shorter, it can feel like you’ve been cheated when the arrangements tend to be so big but end so abruptly. After all, this is a genre where six-minute songs are a staple. Ultimately, these are small complaints. “Peony” and “Tire Swing” have already been on repeat and I’m sure others will follow suit as well.
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