At this point it’s likely that even the most hopeful of fans were doubtful they’d ever hear a new album from Alexisonfire. It’s 13 years since the band last released a full-length record, and in the interim the band members scattered on the wind to work on successful solo projects and collaborations.
So it’s a joy to report that not only are Canada’s premier post-hardcore kids back, older and wiser, they’re also on a creative high that suggests they were waiting for the stars to align perfectly before deeming their new material worthy of recording.
The title is well chosen. Alexisonfire were always special because of their slight oddness. With three voices coming together – George Pettit with his filthy growl, Dallas Green with his clear, prettily melodic vocals and Wade MacNeil with meaty rock’n’roll tones – over a barrage of guitars, they sound like no one else.
There’s a progressive element to the record, which swiftly becomes a finely executed journey full of unexpected turns, sometimes breathless and racing, sometimes elegant and mournful, sometimes sprawling and wailing, always with a sense of beauty and drama at its heart. Otherness is a grand return from a gang of proud outsiders.
