The sophomore album is a mission statement as much as it is a band’s best chance to express themselves in a large body of work to their fanbase. In an industry that is heavily shifting towards singles and EPs, diehards like me crave quantity from bands that have proven consistent quality. For With Sails Ahead, I’ve seen just that for the five years I’ve been following them. From their close friendship with pulses. to an intimate live performance halfway across the country in Chicago, With Sails Ahead has kept my attention in the long wait ahead of Infinite Void, and now their time has come for its release. How does this New Jersey group fare in album number two?
It’s easy to compare a band to another band, but not for With Sails Ahead on Infinite Void. Influences for this group range as far as Hail the Sun to Protest the Hero, marrying mystifying guitar harmony with a proggy song structure that deviates from the norm. In the mix is vocalist Sierra Binondo, who can so easily switch from a graceful melody to an impassioned shout in tracks like opener “every day the sky falls” with gusto. Tack on guitarists Joe Warner-Reyes and Santino Costa trading riffs and leads across verses/choruses and it becomes an involved, impressive post-hardcore listen. The grooves coincide with chugs in “Darting Eyes”, and the tempo really picks up in “Ryn” – bringing in synth and the best bridge on Infinite Void.
Lead single “Swear Words” is With Sails Ahead’s best offering to date – a singalong chorus in the band’s first “love song” with the right tinge of choas in the middle made it hard to not put on repeat when it first dropped. A gorgeous guitar interlude at the end of Lemongrab kept my interest at the halfway point of Infinite Void, whereas the lyric that stuck with me the most comes in “Peach Tea (Obituary)”: “Got no common sense to see The outcome so clearly, What if chasing happiness unlocks the bad ending?” The vocal harmony in the bridge of “Picture Perfect Pixels” is another standout moment on this stacked record.
“Oblivion” and “what if i fall” both show off how Sierra can scream as well as she sings – a jack of all trades in the vocal booth. Layered onto the heavier side of WSA, the back half of Infinite Void holds up to the single-heavy first half. Bringing in Kevin Torres of Poeta for “In Search Of” adds an exciting layer to With Sails Ahead’s songwriting, elevating the already-strong track. Instruments shine in the second half of “Catastrophe” which flows into closer “is this really it” – a somber, definitive sendoff to Infinite Void. As a whole, this is something With Sails Ahead should be proud of – a focused, diverse album that will surely turn a few heads when it releases Friday, April 26th.
Follow With Sails Ahead on Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok!
