Hailing from Southampton in the UK, Placeholder are a 5 piece melodic hardcore/metalcore band. On their EP “Despise Me”, the band tries to break the tropes of the genre and experiments with atmosphere, electronics and keyboards, which is almost unheard of with a melodic hardcore band. The underlying question one might be asking at this point is: does the young band do enough to stand out from their contemporaries and breathe life into a well treaded genre? That’s a little more complicated than a simple yes or no.
On the positive aspect of things, Placeholder do quite a number of things right with the incorporation of atmosphere/electronics taking the forefront. The vocals are another highlight of the EP, with both the harsh vocals and cleans (which happen to be a bit more sparse than one would expect) given ample time to shine. The harsh vocals in particular are very discernible and serve the EP quite well, even with some surprise metalcore-like moments thrown into the mix. When the clean vocals are used they truly shine, like in the track “I Don’t Feel Anything, Anymore”, where they serve as a true highlight of the song bringing nice hooks to the chorus and bringing a nice change of pace. The musicianship from everyone in the band is absolutely stellar, however I must also touch base on the drums, which are another highlight of the EP. Tracks like “I Built This House From Nothing” support this claim, bringing lots of fills and variations to the mix.
Despite these positive things, there is always the lingering feeling that Placeholder are holding themselves back on their true potential. Take “In Misery” for example - this is one of the best songs of the EP as it sees the band balance both heaviness and atmosphere with ease. When I first heard the song I was truly floored by how fantastic it was, and was left wondering why there weren’t other songs of that quality on the EP. Not saying that the rest are bad by any means; simply stating that if the band goes full force on their next outing and follows suit of “In Misery”, we’re in for an absolute game changer of an EP/album. Another thing that might be somewhat off-putting to some would be the lyrics - focusing on mainly mental health, which, understandably, could be a sensitive topic to some. The issue with this is that the lyrics sometimes feel slightly blunt at times, which kind of takes away from the impact that they could have if phrased a little bit differently.
“Despise Me” is an absolute pleasure to listen to, despite its few flaws. Placeholder are going to be exploding onto the scene with this release, and it is justly deserved. For such a young and relatively unheard of band putting out such a fantastic EP, the lads can expect fans of the genre to love every minute of this 20 minute EP. Even with a few minor grips put aside, “Despise Me” is enjoyable, catchy and most importantly fun to listen to. Coming from someone who has never heard of the band prior to this EP, I can easily say that they have earned a new fan and I truthfully cannot wait to see where they go with their next outing.
8.5/10
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