Stick To Your Guns releases one of the most important and cathartic releases of their careers, Keep Planting Flowers.
When one thinks of bands like Stick To Your Guns, they are the kind of hardcore band that has not only shaped the hardcore genre but built a sort of sound that stays within your thoughts while leaving a growing propensity to mosh in the pits. While Stick To Your Guns have always played to the strength of this dualistic approach to their music, the Orange County outfit comes swinging with something more laser-precise and evocative with their cathartic eighth release, Keep Planting Flowers.
As a band that has dedicated itself to simplifying their sound over the years, Stick To Your Guns showcases this approach through the opening tracks: "We All Are Dying," "Spineless," and the early highlight "Permanent Dark." These songs present a blend of instrumental and vocal expression that captures feelings of frustration, anxiety, and the pervasive challenges of everyday life in modern American society. Staying true to their style, Stick To Your Guns effectively channels these complex emotions through relentless guitar riffs, urgent vocals, and powerful percussion. These initial moments create a vivid backdrop that sets the stage for the inescapable changes unfolding in America.
"Invisible Rain," "Severed Forever," and "More Than a Witness," continue to plunge forward with seamless intensity, showing a world that is plagued with uncertainty, pain, sadness, or tragedy and what it means to pick yourself back up from such soul-crushing aspects of life. Sometimes, that is finding a way forward for ourselves, other times, it's to help others find that path with "Keep Planting Flowers" accenting such an emotionally stirring message.
The final three tracks, "Eat Me Up," "Who Needs Who," and "H84U," bring this musical journey to a powerful conclusion, each infused with deep emotional tension. Each track unfolds, resembling a balloon gradually deflating; with each note, more air is released, creating a palpable sense of pressure dissipating slowly. By the last track, there is this feeling of purgative emptiness, yet the core issues that sparked this emotional turmoil remain. The intricate layers of the songs beautifully reflect the complex challenges we face today, encapsulating the struggle to confront and understand these pressing emotional and societal concerns.
Keep Planting Flowers begs the question: When you're completely lost in a world full of loss, pain, suffering, and hate, how does one move forward from the darkness? How do you find your way back? The answer isn't easy, but Stick To Your Guns finds a way to document that complex struggle and is bold enough to show that even through times of uncertainty, we can always find a way forward. It all starts with honesty about what's in front of you and what you're up against. That sometimes is the first step to allowing change to happen.
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