REVIEW: "Disconnect" and "Stigmata" by Basement

As you may have noticed, our reviews tend to be predominantly in the region of Hardcore, Metalcore or Beatdown. That’s the community we are all a part of. However, for a change I thought I would review the new Basement tracks, “Disconnect” and “Stigmata.” I wanted to review the new Basement tracks because Basement are that band with a wider reach in music communities. Basement appeal to the Pop-Punk fanatics, the Hardcore kids and everyone in-between. For me, I feel their music is grounded and incredibly diverse, comparing them to bands like Title Fight, Balance and Composure and Citizen. Basement sits comfortably with different music lovers, this allows them to be placed on a mixture of line-ups and take as many risks as they want. I feel that these 2 tracks show this, here is what I thought of the two tracks.

Disconnect

"Disconnect" was the first Basement release since their album "Promise Everything" released back in 2016. Since then, the band have expanded on their sound, with "Promise Everything" showing a mature polished side to the band, an excellent comeback album showing growth and thought. I would say "Disconnect" is very close to what they’ve been doing with 'Promise Everything'; the song is well structured, thought out and very catchy with a strong chorus.

When I hear this song I think back to early Jimmy Eat World, particularly "Static Prevails" and "Clarity" Era. The strong emotive choruses and that fresh rock sound make an emotive and fun track. Particularly the vocals being reminiscent to Adkins. The song has a strong drive with a clean vocal style, along with those clean, blissful guitar tones and the punchy bass tone.

All in all, the track is very clean sounding and played safe; its no way challenging for a Basement track, buts its catchy and has been crafted well. You can feel the growth of maturity in their music. The sound is refreshing and in a way uplifting, I remember having this track on repeat when I first heard it.

To Conclude, Basement has set a good example for UK alternative and rock music, and I am looking forward to seeing if the rest of the tracks sound like this.

Stigmata

"Stigmata" was the second single released. For me, this song was a major step up from a lot of songs in 'Promise Everything' and 'Disconnect'. "Stigmata" sounds reminiscent to "Colourmeinkindness" era of Basement. The song is much darker and punchy, and a lot more interesting than "Disconnect." The song has a powerful emotive chorus, with the lines, “We’re falling in the dark,” offering a darker element to the band.

The reason why I think this is a major step up is the fact the song almost demonstrates an element of grunge; it sounds like it should be something straight out of the 90’s. The song even has a slightly chaotic emotive break in the middle, before flowing into that blissful chorus. The track still has that clean tone from the guitars at the start and the pre-chorus, allowing the song to flow incredibly well into that heavy but blissful chorus, and then back out again.

The song has a simple structure, but that’s what makes it perfect- it's simple, but a very interesting song. I critique modern day “emo” bands, mostly because I don’t think their music isn't that interesting. With this track, I can eat my words. The track is reminiscent of something sprouting from the 90's emo/grunge scene. It’s nothing special structure wise, but this song is interesting, very emotive and packs a lot into something so simple!

Well done Basement, I can’t wait to hear the next release.

By Sam Hennerley