‘Good things may pass away with time, And good people can be hard to find, Until you find the, In yourself’ (Can’t Kill The Love)

The Love is an album that speaks to something that often seems to be in short supply in our lives at the moment.  A willingness to walk in someone else’s shoes for just a moment.  To take a breath and consider what struggles others may be confronting.  To not allow ourselves to be sucked into the knee jerk intolerance that feels so pervasive.  To resist the almost constant pressure from those seeking scapegoats to punch down on those at the margins.

Destiny Bond are back with their second album and follow-up to 2023’s Be My Vengeance.  The heart of the Denver band’s sound still resides in high octane, youth crew leaning melodic hardcore.  The rhythm section is as fiercely propulsive, the gang vocals as vigorously robust, as this would imply.  Yet amid its more muscular eruptions, the rhythm guitar often has a looser, more ragged texture than might be expected, while the solos fizz with a notable rock’n’roll strut.

What strikes most though is the sheer verve of delivery.  It brims with an unbridled energy and sincerity that is tied together by the galloping, rasping, yelping vocals.  Rooted in the trans experiences of two of the band members, they call universally on us to be more generous spirited to both those around us and, indeed, to ourselves.  It is a breathless ride with the ferociously freewheeling Free Me, the metallic slabs of Debt Perception, and the raucously oscillating Fix capturing the spirit particularly vividly.