Basement soar to heights with Promise Everything

Bidding farewell to their time together with an extensive set of tour dates, it really seemed like that would be the end for the Ipswich quintet. The post-hiatus release of 2012's Colourmeinkindness only served to make the sorrow run deeper: establishing the band as one of the post-hardcore greats, whilst affirming a resolution that everyone who listened wanted to avoid.

Thankfully for all, that was not to be the end. With the release of their Further Sky EP in the summer of 2014, Basement cemented their return. Their time away may have been short lived, but it gave the group exactly what they needed to reaffirm their legacy. Promise Everything is the culmination of that.

With soaring melodies, squalling guitars, and lyrics that resonate from the very first listen, Basement have crafted their finest release to date. Taking the explosive energy of old and honing it under resounding chorus hooks, the group have tapped into a formula that can melt even the sternest of cynics. Practically bursting with hands-on-heart, tears-in-eyes emotion, with Promise Everything Basement have found the confidence to create the record they were always destined to create.

Lead track "Oversized" presented a radical departure. Built from simple refrains and echoing vocals, the track demonstrates the group at their most intimate and restrained. "Aquasun", however, is a ready made anthem, with swirling riffs and an echoing choruses showcasing the band at their most stratospheric. Title track "Promise Everything" sees Basement's rawer side tear free, melodic refrains and echoing distortion hearkening back to their origins, whilst "Blinded By" highlights how far the band have come, reigning in larger than life percussion and hefty refrains from calamity to give the track its polished appeal.

With a sense of perfection that may be tumultuous, Promise Everything is as real a record as you'll find. Swooning in some places and stormy in others, Basement have never sounded this good.