Artist: Sace6
Genre: Alternative, Metalcore
Record Label: Version III
Sace6, an alternative duo, has been making waves across the alternative scene and garnering fans around the globe. From supporting Jxdn across Europe and more recently, Nothing Nowhere across the US, playing new and unreleased songs from their debut EP ‘Limerence’ which has taken them in a new creative direction and evolved their distinctive sound into a heavier realm.
Limerence is now out everywhere, produced by Noah Thomas, released via Version III Records, and accompanied with monochromatic imagery from Dylan Cole.
This EP takes us on an emotional rollercoaster and journey of turmoil through all the stages of limerence; infatuation, obsession, denial/frustration, and resolution, as they continue to push genre boundaries and not corner themselves into a box. They’ve perfectly balanced the heavier breakdowns and Noah’s growls with Sace’s more emotional vocals throughout the project, making it perfect for moshing at shows but also emotionally evocative enough if you just want to listen while getting in touch with your feelings.
Definition: Limerence is a complex emotional state characterised by an obsessive longing for another, often manifesting through intrusive thoughts and fantasies.
Photo Credit: Dylan Cole
Opening track ‘Wake Up’, sets the tone for the EP creating a dream-like soundscape with an eery undertone, creating a sense of unease while simultaneously being comforting. Sace enchants the listener with angelic running vocals as they come to terms with the fact that they were in limerence and lost touch with reality; ‘if this was a dream I’d wake’. Most lyrics throughout this EP have double meanings so it could also show that they were in denial and don’t want to face reality head-on. The numerous instrumental sections with catchy guitar riffs, syncopated drums and layered harmonies showcase the immense effort that went into the production before leading out with a piano outro.
‘Easy Exit’ featuring Matt McAndrew of Rain City Drive starts off slow with Sace’s softer vocals before the drums and guitar riffs come thrashing in for a more upbeat section and are then joined by Noah’s growls. The song continues to switch back and forth between the slower and heavier moments with contrasting vocals as if you were being thrown back and forth between different emotions in a moment of self-reflection. At the start of this track, they start to realise that they have lost themselves, longing after something or someone that wasn’t meant for them; ‘you’re not who you say you are, not even who I expected’. Towards the end, the track encompasses denial and the act of longing after something as a distraction to avoid you own issues. Before a moment of self-awareness where they realise that trying to find the easy way out instead of putting in the work to resolve their own destructive habits ‘do you see your demise in white lies and exit signs?’, isn’t always the best option.
‘Said and done’ hits hard from the beginning with poignant imagery showing their emotional state, ‘When the river dries, I’ll be laying there, wrists slit, neck snapped, blood on my fingertips’. This track is one of the heaviest ones on the EP, fully showing their frustration at losing themselves in someone else; ‘I’ve been hidden underneath everything you were to me’, ‘I want it back, the life that I had poured out of me’, while simultaneously creating their own hell, ‘this hell is mine and what I’ve made of myself’.
This next track ‘Velvet’, featuring JXDN starts with JXDN’s signature sound, characteristic of his recent album ‘When The Music Stops’ before blending seamlessly with Sace6’s contrasting soundscape. This track accompanies you through the feeling of knowing something isn’t good for or meant for you but still wanting it even though it’s unattainable and out of reach, but still holding onto those vices, ‘not there when I need you, and I need you and it’s not fair that you’re right there’. This single embodies the swirling thoughts of self-sabotage; ‘I swore I’d never touch this twice but all I ever do is lie’, ‘I hate that I can’t help it but I’m in love with velvet’ which are further characterised by the booming beat drops and heavily distorted drone towards the end.
The stage of obsession is shown throughout ‘Devotion’; ‘Say that you love me right as I’m letting go of who you are’. This track comes ‘crashing back down’ throughout, both metaphorically and melodically. Noah’s screams in the background support Sace’s vocals and the warped, distorted effects in the background don’t go unnoticed and really add to the atmosphere this song creates. When you first listen to this song you can’t predict which direction it is going to go but results in a pleasant surprise.
Finishing off strong with title track ‘Limerence’, this song is one of the calmer songs on the EP. The echoed reverbed vocals highlight the influence Sleep Token’s music has had on this song. The lyric ‘already stole all the colour from my eyes’ could be a possible reference to ‘saturate’ from their earlier discography thus adding that extra emotional layer. The layered guitars with their respective tones blend perfectly into Noah’s guttural screams at the end as they beg to remain in limerence instead of letting go.
Photo Credit: Dylan Cole
This EP is super well put together from the lyrics and composition, all the way to the creative direction throughout the videos and photos that accompany this project. So much thought has gone into the production with all the intricate little background sound effects that really add to the whole EP as well as all the minute details throughout the whole process. To quote Colie Hutzler of Beauty School Dropout, “They really do just understand music.”
Limerence is available on vinyl hereTickets to their upcoming EP release show in LA here
They are also playing all 3 dates of Warped Tour so be sure to catch them there!
Music videos can be found here