Andrew Wessel | Herald Contributor

Looking for something to listen to that’s a bit on the heavy side? Check out this album by the San Diego-based, post-hardcore band, Thousand Below.

This band caught my interest when I saw them open at a show in Providence a couple weeks ago. I remember I had heard one or two of their songs before seeing them, but after watching their performance, I decided to sit down and listen to their album, “The Love You Let Too Close.” The band was signed to Rise Records in 2017 and has released one studio album and one single.

One song that stands out on the album is track one, “Sinking Me.” This song is the most “radio-esque“ on the album and really showcases the vocalist’s abilities. He has a very crisp, smooth sound when he sings clean vocals — and a raspy, cutting sound when he screams. The guitar riffs in the bridge of the song create a heavy breakdown that makes you want to bang your head along with the music. The lyrics of the song explain that the singer is going through a lot of personal issues, and he is struggling to keep going.

“Everything I could really do without is sinking, sinking me.” He is saying that he has a lot of baggage that he is carrying on his back that he doesn’t need. This baggage is pulling him down further into the dark places of his mind.

The next notable song on this record was track number nine, “Vein.” The beginning of the song starts with a cool little drum solo and continues with the rest of the instruments until the vocals begin in the first verse. The lyrics tell the story of the vocalist’s battle against drugs and how people in his life were affected.

“I lost my friend, myself, and my lover.”

Here, the vocalist is referring to his close friend’s overdose, which in turn, caused his girlfriend to relapse on her own drug addiction and reinforced his own struggle with drugs.

The last song worth highlighting is track two, “Tradition.” “Tradition” has a steady, punching drum beat with heavy chords behind the vocals. The verse is heavy and has an almost “Nu Metal“ feel to it. This song presents more internal struggles that the vocalist faces.

“…now I’m stuck tailored to this suit of broken skin.”

He is talking about how he feels trapped in his body, unable to escape his inner demons.