2008 was a pretty good year for melodic, contemporary hard core with the likes of Verse, Have Heart, Brothers, Take It Back and the almighty Killing the Dream. Yet here comes this nautical themed debut from this awesome SoCal three piece featuring members of Graf Orlock and comes close to taking the throne of 2008s best.

15 songs (in under 11 minutes) of pissed off, fierce yet melodic and vibrant hardcore with a maritime undercurrent is the order of the day, and Ghostlimb deliver it in spades, though leaving the listener wanting much more.

It’s hard to break down such a short, sudden release, but within the brief spurt of Bearing & Distance, Ghostlimb manage to unfurl raucous melodies(“Port of Call”, “Document”, “Laughter”, “Age Old”) rousing, sterner, slow moments (“Southwest Passage”) as well as traditional hardcore fueled angst and power chords (“Seven’, the fucking furious “Ruins”, “Estate Sale”, “Ocean Floor”), and some restrained melancholy and introspection (“The Force That Gives Us Meaning”, start of closer “Laxodrome” ).

All of it has a gritty production, though not as polished as Killing the Dream, and with some gruffer vocals from Justin Smith. It all blazes by with an urgent sense of fervent melody, but retains its rough edge.

Salty fucking stuff indeed.

[Visit the band's website]

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