Wisconsin’s WHOLEHEARTED are both a rejuvenating shot of energetic hardcore and a snapshot of the familiar, which for the genre, is hardly a bad place to be. Combining pretty much every shard of influence from the past 20 years of aggressive music, WHOLEHEARTED flicker between the melodic post-youth crew sounds of TURNING POINT, West Coast straight-edge groups like FADED GREY and STAY GOLD, the mid-west fury of early MODERN LIFE IS WAR, and for good measure, the east coast grime of KILL YOUR IDOLS, particularly in the rough, soul-searching lyrics. Avoiding a pigeonhole like it means serious business, WHOLEHEARTED are never stifled by trying to fit some kind of image or position. It helps that nearly all of the eleven songs on Reclaim are effectively sequenced, pairing songs that match the band’s height of aggression (the trio of “Pedestals,” “Second Chances,” and “Maps,” being the pinnacle of the recording), and building up the tension for the final two numbers, “My Worst,” and the title track, “Reclaim.” Lead vocalist Trent Brusky isn’t the strongest of vocalists, but like VERSE’s Sean Murphy, he leads a song when necessary, but otherwise defers to the bristling rhythm section. WHOLEHEARTED may hail from Wisconsin, but you can rest assured that Reclaim is free of cheese.

Volatile

www.myspace.com/wholehearteddwi