Reviewed by Oscar Hyde

The Phoenix-based Overcome were lynchpins of the '90s Christian hardcore scene: their first EP helped to kickstart the legendary Facedown Records. 'No Reserves. No Retreats. No Regrets.' is their second album since their great 2001-2010 hiatus. That sort of lengthy lying-dormant usually means one of two things: the band have either made an extraordinary and drastic reinvention or been left behind with the times of earlier music. Neither's true here, which is wonderful! The album's not groundbreaking, sure, but the music's still fantastically fresh. Overcome don't have the eternal youth of a Converge, but the breakdowns are still blistering; tempos and time signatures still bounce all over the place; the drummer seems to have upgraded to a quadruple bass pedal (the bass rolls-yes!-on "Travail" are jaw-dropping). I'd complain only that this is a scarily short album; seven songs whizz by in just under twenty-two minutes, and it's not as if Overcome have outstayed their welcome-the lightweight production keeps the songs feel like the work of nimble tricksters rather than the unstoppable juggernauts of most modern hard music, so there's not nearly so much listener's fatigue. That aside, this is a solid entry from veterans of the craft.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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