If the future of progressive rock is here, it is wherever Portland’s post-hardcore powerhouse To Bloom is standing. Built around the long-running creative partnership of vocalist Bruno López-Vargas and guitarist Kevin Merrill Payne, the DIY collaborative outfit have continued to put the pedal to the evolution of rock and metal after 2022 saw accolades from Metal Hammer and SPIN Magazine. In their recent string of singles, Pendulum hits with the force of a juggernaut caught in a hypersonic frenzy.
Reference points refuse to pin themselves easily to To Bloom. In Pendulum, they swing through echoes of the past while dragging the track into a sharper future, delivering the emotional pull of emo-centric post-hardcore, the epic rhythmic narrative of progressive rock and synth-heavy metal weight. The vocals carry urgency through emotional intimacy without slipping into melodrama as the guitars coil and detonate, and the production gives the whole thing a widescreen pressure that feels built for sweat, catharsis and a properly rattled ribcage.
There are traces of Thrice’s wounded enormity, Thursday’s high-stakes emotional theatre and Coheed and Cambria’s progressive sweep in the architecture, while the heavier electronic weight nods towards Northlane’s modern metal force. Yet Pendulum belongs to the exact space To Bloom have been steadily claiming.
As the band continue developing their full-length record, Pendulum lands like a statement of scale. If you have been looking for a post-hardcore outfit to get your teeth stuck into, hit play. It is the most frenetic alt earworm you will hear all year.
Pendulum is now available on all major streaming platforms, including SoundCloud.
Review by Amelia Vandergast
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