A flurry of drums. A frantically trilling guitar line. A hectoring vocalist. A verse and a chorus, and then the whole thing slows into a majestic breakdown. Is this sounding familiar, yet? Eulcid play a frantic, energetic brand of contemporary post-hardcore, resting on the dissonant fringe where earnest, melodic post-hardcore starts to sound like the fabled screamo of yore. You've got your basic howled, semi-political lyrics, your basic chunka-chunka rhythm guitar and your basic hyperactive rhythm section. The basic question here is whether you really need more of this stuff in your record collection.

It's apparently very gauche for reviewers to quote former critics, but chew on this little nugget courtesy of Pauline Kael, writing in the New Yorker: "Some [movie] stars... don't realize as they get older, if they continue to play the same sort of parts, they no longer need to use the same bold strokes... But if they pare down their styles and let our memories and imaginations fill in from the past, they can seem masters."

Eulcid, though hardly veterans in their own right, are building very directly from a foundation that traces at least as far back as intricate D.C. hardcore vets like Rites of Spring. Fugazi, for example, who ran this kind of action into the ground, have remained relatively vital because they're willing to let their history fill in the blank spots. It's no wonder their recent records have become relatively quiet and subtle: the audience can fill the anthemic shoutalongs with their memories and imaginations. On the other hand, like an actor retreading his greatest hits, the 'Cid ultimately end up walking mostly the same lines as the bands they prize above anything.

The Wind Blew All the Fires Out delivers the act with conviction, of course. The band has familiarized themselves with this genre well enough that they know very well what works and what doesn't. Their string bends are tart and winning and their mid-song tempo shifts are usually well-executed and welcome breaks in the action. When they resurrect the hoary old Zen Arcade trick of playing a drum pattern backwards, it enhances the song that follows it.

In short, if you're the kind of fan who can never have enough of this stuff, Eulcid will probably be a welcome addition to your collection. But if what jolts you is a flash of innovation, you're probably better off with the early Dischord releases that provide the same jollies, as well as the off-the-cuff genius that came with people creating a new sound as it rolled off their fingertips.

-Sam Eccleston