All is fair in love and small town alienation! This is a message that rings clear on Lie Captive new full length release, “The Hopeless North.” In Lie Captive, Plattsburgh, NY has a future national export with the power of a jet propeller. The drive and fury of this 3 piece band from the North Country is on par and in tune with the crushing sounds of Thursday and The Get Up Kids. The lyrical content is just as blistering. Take hold of the vocal gang attack of Tyler Oliver and Chris Parmelee. It is the secret ingredient in this hardcore jambalaya. With the release of “The Hopeless North,” on Death To False Hope Records, the rest of the country is getting a chance to hear this first hand.
Although all lyrics are open to interpretation, you can not overlook the themes of townie based mediocrity that surface here. It is also apparent that Lie Captive are not down with the mundane trappings of that “life moves at a slow pace” vibe. Between the vicious interludes of freight train like precision, the band delivers tiny doses of their rage against the redundancy machine. In the song, Weight of Meager Pay, the band references, “Ignorant fools and shady bars.“ When you juxtapose that against the title of the song, it signals an ultra wise observation that screams, ‘we live in isolated every town America.’ Although the band may not realize it, the social commentary that they bring 
forth here is something that many need to absorb. This rings true for the many that live in the epicenters of self defeat by self obliteration. They do not stop there. On the song Lit Screen Commodity, the band rages, “This is the disingenuous era.” The band clearly has so much to say, and a surplus of venom behind the approach involved. One of my favorite lyrical rants on this record is in the song, The Vast Dreams of Simple Minds. “You run from honesty like a fucking disease,” is a classic new era slogan for the self oppressed world at large.
I have been able to sample many records from Upstate metal and hardcore bands this year. “The Hopeless North,” is a time capsule of thoughts and velocity that can not be overlooked by those seeking to find great new music. The future of this band looks extremely bright. In a world of fake convictions and dim hope, the truth can set you free. And on this record, the band attacks the fabric of our world of ho-hum fabrication. Go get em’ Lie Captive!
For more information on Lie Captive-
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/liecaptive
http://deathtofalsehoperecords.com
-Erik Jensen
Comments are closed.