Castevet — Summer Fences

Be warned: this record packs a wallop, though I'm not sure it's the best kind. Opener "Between Berwyn And Bryn Mawr" starts off by building a guitar-tinged reverie and then suddenly, you find yourself sucker-punched by raw and full-throated screams.

Summer Fences is the Chicago-based quartet's first full-length album, which pairs experimental instrumentals with traces of metal, all while nodding back to early emo and post-hardcore bands.

Plenty of records have an element that hurts the overall product, and in Castevet's case the harsh vocals overpower the music in a very in-your-face way. It might even be a little too in-your-face. It's hard to deny the stark contrast of the gritty screams against the otherwise lush and lovely instrumentals.

The band overcome this slight misstep in the nearly eight-minute album closer "When A Movie Is Made In France, It's Called Cinemas" where the yelping is turned down a notch and the music is finally able to take centre stage.

All vocal issues aside, the musical arrangements are never boring and tracks like "I Know What A Lion Is" and "Beating High Schoolers At Arcade Games" channel the likes of Braid. Indeed, musically Castevet would fit right in with the original "emo" bands of the '90s.

With some fine tuning, Castevet could turn heads in the future.