27 Miles Underwater


27 Miles Underwater is the second studio album by British hardcore punk band Higher Power. The album was released on 24 January 2020 through Roadrunner Records.

Composition

The album has been described as alternative rock, hardcore punk and alternative metal. Pitchfork called it "the most 1995 rock album of 2020", and as treating "’90s alt-rock with the reverence usually afforded to classic rock". On the album, vocalist Jimmy Wizard makes use of both screaming and "airy melodies", emphasising his dark lyrical style. Brooklyn Vegan called it "the first great rock album of 2020". In an article for Discovered Magazine, writer Matty Williamson praised the album for expanding the band's sound to include pop music sensibilities, while still retaining their prior hardcore punk sound.

Critical reception

27 Miles Underwater was well-received by contemporary music critics. On review aggregator website, Album of the Year, the album has an average rating of 77 out of 100 based on three critic reviews. Ian Cohen, writing for Pitchfork gave the album a 7.0 out of 10, calling it "the most 1995 sounding album of 2020". Cohen further said "while nearly every single part of a Higher Power song has an identifiable source, they cycle through ideas quick enough to avoid any charges of grand larceny even when they get caught stealing." He compared the album as a more accessible version of Turnstile, Creeper, or Code Orange. In a mixed review, Sam Houldon, writing for Punknews.org, also compared the album to Turnstile's sophomore album, Time & Space, and said that "straight off the bat; there is a lot of Turnstile in this record. Not to an extent that is fundamentally a problem, but certainly to an extent that you’re likely to find yourself thinking about it on more than one occasion."
Martyn Young, writing for Upset magazine gave the album an 8 out of 10 praising the composition and confidence on the record. Young wrote "it’s the sound of a confident band who know that they’re making a significant step up and are ready to shout about it."

Accolades

Track listing

Personnel

Higher Power
Additional personnel