Emotions run high in The Plot In You’s fifth album Swan Song. Delving into the very end of all relationships and life itself, the Ohio four-piece deal with the grief, the blame and everything in between, making this a therapy session with an open invite.
Album opener ‘Letters To A Dead Friend’ immediately hits hard with frontman Landon Tewers’ smooth, clean vocals soaring over the atmospheric track. A very brooding song, lyrics such as “I don’t wanna be alive” and “It should be me in the ground a thousand fucking times” will stay with you for the rest of your journey throughout the ten-track record.
Similarly, he describes the following song ‘Fall Again’ to be the darkest of all, speaking straight to a friend dealing with drug abuse. Here, one is basically part of an intimate conversation between the two. It feels wrong; as though you’re sat with an ear to the wall trying to grasp onto the out of context details of this intervention. Very few lyricists have the poignancy and honesty that Tewers does, and that’s what Swan Song should be remembered for.
‘Paradigm’ is another key track on the record whose lyrics should not be overseen. Discussing the one-sided relationship and unorthodox power dynamic between fans and musicians, it’s really thought-provoking and (given the state of the scene and the constant wave of allegations) almost relieving to know the band’s stance on the topic. This post-hardcore track is executed with nothing but simultaneous passion and disgust, forcing lines like “A flawless excuse to never analyse the form of abuse”, “We stand like gods amongst weak men” and “You’re just a number to them” on you. One of the strongest on the album, this in particular will be a big hit when they return to touring.
Unfortunately, the aforementioned three tracks have set the bar so high, the remaining seven are nowhere near in terms of quality and resonance. Although The Plot In You are known for their sonic metalcore, the production in Swan Song feels excessive and overwhelming. Compared to previous releases’ approach, this record explores more mellow subgenres like RnB and even hints of drum and bass at times. However, the result isn’t as effective as envisioned and it just causes them to lose their ferocity and vigour, such as in ‘Too Heavy’ and ‘Face Me’. As the tone goes up and down, left and right, certain tracks become directionless and lost in the sea of production effects.
If The Plot In You had experimented less with Swan Song, it could have been their best album to date. The harrowing lyrics and compositions of ‘Letters To A Dead Friend’, ‘Fall Again’ and ‘Paradigm’ showed the potential of what could have been but unfortunately were overshadowed by the poor production choices elsewhere. While it’s always interesting to see bands (especially in metalcore) try something new, The Plot In You maybe strayed a little too far this time.