Album Review: Fragile Future by Hawthorne Heights

Fragile Future is Hawthorne Heights' first effort without Casey Calvert, whose shrieking vocals helped establish the band as one of the only platinum-selling outfits in the screamo genre. Following his death in 2007, the remaining bandmates returned to the recording studio as a slimmed-down quartet, retaining their emo songcraft while doing away with Calvert's cathartic screams. Even so, Fragile Future is a thoroughly cathartic effort, with Calvert's death and the band's continued feud with Victory Records looming large in J.T.

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Review Summary: Robbed of their most distinctive performer, Hawthorne Heights no longer stand out from a swathe of emo pretenders. By the close of 2006, Ohio pop punkers Hawthorne Heights were firmly ensconced as one of rock’s most successful acts, commanding platinum album sales when such achievements were becoming an increasing rarity, especially for groups who don’t openly flaunt stadium rock pretensions. Their second release on Victory Records, If Only You Were Lonely, was a remarkable development on their promising debut, marking them out as the rare type of band that could convincingly carry heavy music beyond its core audience to pop and non-rock audiences.

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