New Cyclamen/ Janpalach Split Delivers Intense & Deeply Moving Screamo

On their fresh four-song split record, the intense post-hardcore/screamo groups Cyclamen and Janpalach unite for screamo that perfectly blends deep emotional resonance with physical heft. France’s Cyclamen deliver bursts of inescapably urgent musical passion on their two tracks, which even include some lengthy, cohesive-feeling acoustics, while Janpalach (who are from Ukraine) amp up the rawness. Listening through this record and traveling from the melodic lurches of Cyclamen into the especially caustic edged meltdowns of Janpalach leaves the feeling of perhaps peeling back layers of a real, personally emotionally upending experience.

Both groups seem confident in their approach to that volatile inner core, which translates into an immediately refreshing and subtly disarming listening experience.

Cyclamen open with intricate and frenzied post-hardcore melodies that feature an alluringly low-fi twang. The tones aren’t overwhelmingly meaty — instead, the French group’s opening track packs just enough breathing room to let the rises and falls really jump out. The guitar and drum blasts spiral out alongside one another, as the constantly shifting performances pack a perfect musical portrait of desperate energy.

Cyclamen feature brief forays into drum and riff performances with a breakneck speed, but thanks to those spastic accelerations’ refreshingly dynamic placement, their music packs a real personally accessible feel. It’s not about suffocation, per se — instead, including via their follow-up, largely acoustic track, Cyclamen deliver an up close and personal look at emotional fallout, with accenting dynamic shifts.

The lyrics, which are delivered with a gripping urgency (the repeated bursts of the refrain “You lie!” stop you in your tracks), ground this “fallout” in dealing with someone who’s used the band’s particular music community as a cover for trashy behavior.

Meanwhile, Janpalach perform directly heaving, emotionally upending melodic hardcore. The thickness and fury of their contributions, amplified by energetic low-end screams from a vocalist who sounds like they’re giving their absolute all, deliver a kind of elevated platform on which to experience the melodic swings packed into these two songs in particular and the release as a whole. Their combo of a sonic tidal wave of manic intensity with a powerfully poignant and persistent, despondent-sounding melody anchors their performances in their own uniquely immersive experiences.

5/5 Stars

Check out the music below! Longrail Records, Bus Stop Press, and Seaside Suicide Records participated in the release.