Album Review: While a Nation Sleeps by Boy Sets Fire

It's been seven years. They're back. And we're happy to say, with something pretty darn good. This first full-length in seven years from Delaware hardcore legends Boysetsfire doesn’t disappoint. ‘While A Nation Sleeps…’ is typically impassioned, excellent stuff that marries wretched, raw ….

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There aren't any surprises on BoySetsFire's first full-length in seven years: there's the heavy hardcore opener that makes way for a melodic, sung chorus; a second song that's more melodic, catchy and totally powerful; and then a third that gets more aggressive again, with more screaming and less power. It's the opening trio we've seen on most of their albums, and it works, except when there's more screaming and chugging hardcore — these guys have always excelled at melody and mid-tempo, with the vocals soaring and singing in that unique way (i. e.

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After a breakup lasting from 2007 to 2010, Boysetsfire are back with a new album, their first in nearly seven years, and it doesn’t disappoint. While A Nation Sleeps... is more of a staple Boysetsfire album than its predecessor, 2006’s The Misery Index: Notes From The Plague Years, which found the band exploring the more experimental sides of their patented emotional hardcore sound.

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Charlie Chaplin was one of the great stars of the silent era of movies, working his way up from a young age through music halls he achieved enormous acclaim at the peak of his career. However, his refusal to move with the swiftly changing times into the world of talkies left him as something of a relic, despite the fact that he went on to make some fine work in the latter stages of his career. What has all this got to do with BoySetsFire then? Well, Chaplin’s career feels neatly analogous to that of the Delaware post-hardcore stalwarts, marked as it is by cult acclaim and a sense that while the genre they work within has become a multi-million dollar industry, they were slightly left behind, leading in their case to an eventual hiatus.

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