13th Hour - Thirteen

Post-hardcore may have had its day come the turn of the new Millennium, yet myriad bands still to this day see fit to shamelessly raid the graves of Reuben and Million Dead for their own unoriginal gain; take two parts Yourcodenameis:Milo and one part Quicksand, and you can, unfortunately, pretty much track the course of the last five years of Kerrang-lite indie. It's to their credit then, that 13th Hour have so effortlessly put together a debut's worth of spellbindingly authentic rock; opener 'Hear the Sirens' and sprawling slow-burn closer 'Mirrors' book-end a half-hour that flits from Funeral for a Friend-esque stadium pop - 'Miracle Tonight' - to hook-heavy anthemics, in 'Lights Go Out'.

Perhaps 'Thirteen's best moments are those where the band let their collective foot off the pedal on which it so often relies and let their quieter moments rise to the surface; 'Now and Forever' could easily remain in the lighter-in-the-air 'Nothing Else Matters' vein it recalls, yet all too soon goes for the jugular and lets itself down as a result, while 'Colours of the Sun' has a similar effect. Otherwise, 13th Hour's first LP is a strong, almost worryingly able album and signals through tracks like 'Best of Me' - which so effortlessly channels the bass-heavy distortion of Muse's 'Hysteria' - a potential of almost arena proportions.

MP3: Lights Go Out
MP3: Best Of Me

Out now.

www.myspace.com/13thhourband