It's hard to define what post-hardcore really is. It lies somewhere between emo and hardcore. Most of the time post-hardcore lyric content is so ambiguous to any subject matter that it can be slipped into any category, i.e. relationships, politics, conquering self-doubt, bla bla bla . More and more though I find myself leaning toward the "conquering self doubt" area of content. Bear vs. Shark is the kind of stuff my friends and I listened to heavily about four years ago. Bands like Leatherface, Billy (virtually unknown), and Hot Water Music were the bands we found most inspiring. The song's alcohol-inspired lyrics about being depressed, living in a small town, keeping tight friendships, and how to "live your heart and never follow" coupled with the look and attitudes (heavy facial hair, flannel, and the emphasis on friendship) led me to categorize this music as lumberjack core.

So there you have it, Bear vs. Shark's second album Terrorhawk is fueled by other lumberjack core acts like Small Brown Bike, Panthro UK United 13, and even shows similarities to butt rockers, Tight Bros. From Way Back When. I was skeptical (as always) about this new release - I'd heard rumors of greatness and post-hardcoreness but had to check the hype for myself. "Catamaran" opens up the album with Fugazi riffs and energy and a slight Chris Wollard singing style. It's a classic Naked Ray Gun indie punk sound filled with chaotic rhythms and agonizing syncopations. Even the famous post-hardcore pioneers At the Drive-In come to mind on "5, 6 kids." Big sound, jazzy Euphone-esque breakdowns that epitomized what post-hardcore "really" is.

As the album erupts into the ultimate bro-down album (picture drunk logger looking dudes hugging each other) you realize that this album consists of elements that throw it into sort of a "bromanticism" state. It's hard for me to explain this theory but as Terrorhawk unfolds it took me back to a time when my friends and I were local national park hippies. Every weekend we would trek to the wilderness, get drunk and tell each other "I love you man" and "we need to hang out more." and divulge theories of what Fugazi's "The Argument" meant. Sorry for getting so personal but that is about the only way I can explain this type of music.

Barely decipherable lyrics with an uncommon super tight musicianship are what you get when lumberjack-core is executed to a textbook perfection, and Terrorhawk has got the shit down. This is also the type of band that any other band should respect, especially for their instrument prowess. This is another theory that I thought of one day. Musicians only like bands that are good at the instruments they play. For example, my drummer friend Chris only likes bands with exceptional drummers that drum his style. He never really came out and said this but looking at his CD collection it's obvious. "I f****d your dad" is what you get when kids grow up listening to too much John Cougar and Bruce Springsteen b-sides and mature into Spoke and Clairmel fanatics in their teen years.

The bands of this breed are few and far between to say the least. Bear vs. Shark must get their energy directly from the stars and form their band around experiences gained and engaged by small town scuffles, construction jobs, personal wars and breakdowns, and ripped apart friendships. Lumberjack core is a great genre of music, still untrammelled by the evlls of commercialism. Even though it seems to me that this will be the next evolutionary step in popular music. Who knows, maybe I'm just talking out of my ass, but the idea of it sounds good…to me anyway. I can only hope that the weird bromantic lyrics that only other bros can pick up on will also inspire average folks. The thick bass leading into a ravaging cannon blast of sound up the ass smashed into crazy riffage, thick ass distortion, and gnarly timing signatures add up to a rip your balls out through your throat type of listening experience. Red faced panting from screaming also comes to mind.