Album review: Proceed – Seven Months And A Fire Blanket

Another day, another fresh-faced gang of British lads trying their hand at the post-hardcore formula, right? Well, don’t turn away yet – Proceed are a few steps above the crowd of clones, and the complex (and cumbersomely-titled) Seven Months And A Fire Blanket mini-album makes for a pretty strong showcase of their diversity.

Now, post-hardcore bands with keyboards are ten a penny, but Proceed have progressed beyond the cheesy eighties string patches, upgraded to a sampler, and scattered some genuinely interesting little snatches of sound through their material. All through Seven Months And A Fire Blanket, layers of found sound lurk in the background punctuated with subtle little synthetic flourishes, while riffs are sampled sliced and diced to back up the lone real guitar. It’s done with restraint and attention to detail, and that alone sets Proceed aside from the pack.

That’s not all, though; that same attention to detail informs every song on Seven Months And A Fire Blanket, making every track intriguing, loaded with little treasures to unearth on a second or third listen. Not for Proceed the stock structures and sounds of the moment – they manage to sound simultaneously contemporary and leagues ahead of the pack, and given the saturation of the market at the moment there can’t be a better formula for success.

Proceed frontman Dan Lancaster has an enviable vocal range, capable of delivering the traditional roars and howls without descending into incoherence, and with a clean tone that oozes authenticity. You’re never in any doubt that he means every word he sings on Seven Months And A Fire Blanket – which may be partly attributed to him writing lyrics that step away from the trite pop rehashings of the emo crowd and into the territory that early Hundred Reasons populated, questioning the world rather than simply reporting on it.

Combined with the fluid progressive songwriting, it’s a winning combination. Proceed drag you from crystalline contemplation to clench-fisted fury with not so much as a jolt, with angular guitar crunch that verges on metalcore giving way to ethereal atmospheres and soaring melody, all powered by drumming with a degree of precision that would make the Audi engineers jealous.

I get sent plenty of albums and EPs from young British bands with their eyes on the post-hardcore crown, but Seven Months And A Fire Blanket is the first one in some time that actually delivers on the bravado of its press release. Watch out for Proceed on the live circuit – I know I will be.