Upon listening to Axiom, I had to revisit Harker’s previous record No Discordance to check if I misremembered the band’s sound. But no, Axiom is quite the sonic leap from No Discordance. What I loved about No Discordance was its heartfelled nature and how the band made up what it may lack in originality (to be honest, a superfluous quality to judge punkrock by) with top notch songwriting and execution. Axiom is a different beast, with the band expanding their sound in every direction. It’s more rock-oriented, it’s more varied, more dynamic. It manifests a band full of ambition and willing to challenge themselves. What particularly stands out on Axiom is the vocals. Harker already had a great singer in Mark Boniface, but on the new record the harmonies with the rest of the band are a thing to behold – listen to Sigh Of Crows. On Axiom, Harker swims upstream, not sure where it will take them, and I’m curious to see how this record will be received by fans of their previous work – if reluctant, they should at the very least enjoy Hellion, Flex Yr Head and No Sun, three songs that in terms of that old school Harker sound are among the best they’ve recorded. I for one am rooting for the band to be rewarded for their effort. Axiom is out now through Disconnect Disconnect Records (UK), Shield Recordings (Netherlands), Wiretap Records (US) and Fixing A Hole Records (Japan).
