A few weeks ago we got a splendid new album from the band Higherlows, hailing from Manitoba, Canada. Now when this band first debuted, I thought they were a little closer to pop punk than post-hardcore. Once the new album came out, though, I was more sold on the post-hardcore vibe, although it is lighter vocally and more centered towards clean vocals. Higherlows is a reincarnation of a super sick hardcore band called Escape From Echo Base. I’m not 100% sure if it’s all the same members, but I know at least two or three of the members are the same. Back in 2022 I was going for a run (back before I broke my knee and could run) and I pulled up my release radar and saw this band, Higherlows. I started listening to it and I recognized the vocals immediately! Then I realized that the guitar style sounded the same too, and I did some quick research to confirm that this was basically EFEB’s new band.
So anyway, I kept an eye on this band for the past 3-ish years and noticed some new singles in the past few months, and now here we are with the debut album. Transition State is a complex and beautiful album, spanning 9 songs that weave through emotional and personal topics. I assume this album was really a cathartic release for whoever wrote it, but I still find the songs very easy to relate to and align with. Almost all of the songs have catchy choruses and pretty, mathy riffs that are reminiscent of the band In Angles (who also happened to have just released an album). Both In Angles and Higherlows play mostly in standard tuning, which I think is impressive given that the majority of songs out there are written in standard and the longer time goes on the harder it is to write something new and original (also if I’m wrong about this just know I’m not a guitarist and you can tell me I’m wrong in the comments). However, this album isn’t lacking in originality at all.
The main songwriter behind Escape From Echo Base (and now possibly Higherlows as well) was Sam Jacobs, who was also the lead guitarist for a legendary band called The Afterimage. I was lucky enough to stumble across The Afterimage when I was pretty young: about 15 or 16. They had just come out with their EP, Formless, which was incredible. The first song (named Prologue) is still so beautiful to listen to now, and has stayed with me as I’m sure it has for a lot of others who like this little slice of hardcore/prog. A few years later they released a really great tune called Onyx along with one of my favorite guitar playthrough videos ever done by – you guessed it – Sam Jacobs.
I do want to admit a pretty embarrassing story about myself and this band because I think it offers a good lesson that I learned. Back when The Afterimage was about to put out their album EVE, I was not a huge fan of the first single they released in preparation. Being a dumb college kid who thought he knew everything about music, I commented something on one of their Facebook posts about their new music not being the same and them losing what made them good. Soon after the album released they called it quits as a band, and while I know realistically the fault doesn’t lie with me, I can’t help but feel some of the burden of responsibility for their end. I think about that comment a lot, even though I posted it over 6 years ago. It’s a reminder to me that I need to be less quick to pass judgement and more supportive of others instead. Social media allows anyone to blast their opinions without thinking and without repercussion, and you never know how your comments are going to affect someone else. I hope that me being a dumbass didn’t make any of the members of the afterimage feel discouraged about their art, and that one day I can meet them and apologize to them for it. I think that part of the reason I started this site is that I want to bring whatever attention I can to some of the smaller, underrated bands that I want to keep going. I don’t want any bands to break up due to lack of notoriety and a loss of passion.
So from here, let’s get into the album. Unfortunately the lyrics aren’t posted anywhere on the internet, so I can only rely on my amazing listening skills to figure out what the songs are about. I will say that similarly to other albums I’ve talked about on this blog, many of the songs are actually easy to tell the subject matter just from the vibe and the title. Transition State starts out with the titular track, a 1 minute instrumental intro that characterizes the overall feeling of the entire album. It’s very pretty and gives a sort of reflective or somber tone, but not without hope. Many if not all of the songs have significant instrumental portions that, while they’re mostly different, feel connected. It definitely takes great songwriting skill to be able to make albums like this.
Wake is the first full song on the album and I think it really sets the tone and purpose of the album. It seems to be about feeling like you’ve been stuck in place just letting time pass you by. In fact, the chorus line “wake me from this transition state,” probably tells all you need to know about the meaning of the song. The other thing I thought was cool about this song was a reference to one of their first singles, Fog (not on this album). The line in Wake goes “It’ll all be clearer, we used to say,” and the corresponding line in Fog is: “It’ll all be clearer tomorrow.” I think that shows this album is about reflection. Reflection on past accomplishments, and on goals. I think it’s very common to think about where you are today and what you’ve done with your life so far, and wonder if you made the right choices. I know it’s something I think about all the time.
The next song, Caricature, continues with the album theme of reflection and change. The most interesting thing in this song is the mention of the title of another song on the album: “It’s Never Too Late to Leave.” I think this song is specifically focused on not being able to recognize yourself after making certain choices or letting yourself go down the wrong path. The album title is pretty relevant here because it’s possible that the writer could consider the so-called “transition state” to be the period of time in between who you were and who you’re becoming. Alternatively, it could be referring to the period of time that someone needs to make a big change in their life, and, in a more positive light, this album could signify the hard work and dedication it takes to make something of yourself that you’re proud of.
Instilled With Me is slightly different from the other songs preceding it. This one is my personal favorite on the album, and it’s another great song about dealing with loss and the impact that someone had on your life. I think loss is one of the most universally understood topics and easiest to relate to(I’ve totally mentioned this before). I do think this song in particular is more on the hopeful and positive side. The lyrics point to the brighter side of things, where instead of focusing on the void left by someone’s absence, instead the lyrics are about how you can still feel the people who you’ve lost. This particular song seems to be about a close friend, and it’s possible the relationship in question isn’t with someone who passed away, but rather someone who they used to be close with but have drifted apart from. This could be adding to the hopeful nature of the song despite it also feeling a bit like an In Memoriam. The last two minutes of the song are incredibly beautiful; A very somber dedication to a loved one. This may be kind of lame but it honestly brought tears to my eyes the first time I was listening to it. Actually it’s not lame, it’s great to feel your feelings and what better way to do so than listen to music?
I know I skipped a few songs on the album in this review, but I wanted to mainly focus on the songs that I connected with the most instead of just saying how all of the songs had similar vibes. The outro of the album is the song mentioned earlier, Its Never Too Late to Leave. I like the title of this song and the fact they used it as a lyric earlier because it serves as a good reminder. A reminder that you can leave any situation that you think is harmful to yourself. Sometimes that’s for sure easier said than done, but I think that it’s not the worst thing in the world to be somewhat selfish and protective of yourself. The cool bit of this song was the piano section that was a callback to the guitar solo at the end of Wake. It was a really nice way to tie together the album.
As I say with any album I post on here: I really dig this one. I think maybe I’m being a bit disingenuous by calling these posts “album reviews” rather than just “albums I really like.” I guess the better way to view this site is just music recommendations if you enjoy any of these bands. Check them out on Bandcamp for their music, and follow them on socials so you don’t miss when they release more stuff. If you like this band, give Castele a listen as well!
All images in this article belong to Higherlows band, I do not claim them as my own
