Close Your Eyes’ Empty Hands and Heavy Hearts picks up where 2010′s We Will Overcome left off. Throughout the album, Shane Raymond’s half-sung, half-screamed vocals are explosive and compelling as the Christian melodic hardcore band marries screamo’s intense, fleet-footed rhythms with optimistic spiritual messages. The big shift from earlier work is that the tempo is increased. The band’s whiplash aesthetic isn’t especially distinctive, although the spindly guitar riffs of Andrew Rodriguez and Brett Callaway are tight, and the breakdowns are always powerful. Even if innovation isn’t a top priority, Close Your Eyes are highly passionate and the familiar palette of double kicks, warm and buzzing guitars, adrenaline, and emotional melodies should be enough to win over fans of Comeback Kid, Four Year Strong, and Rise Against. – Jason Lymangrover
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