Baptists
Bloodlines
Southern Lord
Street: 10.14
Baptists = Converge + Disfear + All Pigs Must Die

Baptists are back with their sophomore release, which follows their debut by less than two years. The current album cycle for bands seems to be accelerated and can unfortunately cause otherwise solid bands to drop mediocre albums. While not a genre buster, Baptists’ 2013 debut Bushcraft was a blazing slab of D-beat hardcore that had some ear-grabbing drumming and guitar work. It’s unfortunate, then, that Bloodlines is so ordinary. If there is such a thing as a by-the-numbers, Kurt Ballou–produced, D-beat, metallic hardcore record, Baptists have written it. I can’t help but feel that such a short time between albums is partially at fault. Playing more closely to genre expectation and dropping the elements that made pieces of their debut stand out has neutered their potential, making an angry hardcore record that only warrants a shrug. Hopefully, Baptists take more time before they release number three. –Peter Fryer