Echo Scale™: 3.6/5 ★★★☆☆
Welcome Back to the Deep End
After ten months away, Landscapes & Landslides return with “Nosedive” their first release since 2024’s twin EPs. Hailing from Kilmarnock, this four-piece brings back their signature blend of Midwest emo and alternative grit, this time with a noticeable step up in production quality. The band took their drum tracking to Scotland’s iconic Chem19 Studios (Mogwai, The Twilight Sad), with the rest of the recording and mixing handled DIY in guitarist Kyle Roberts’ home studio. Mastering duties were passed to David McAulay (King Creosote, Afterlands), giving the track a polished finish… even if not all the choices fully land.
Guitars March In with Promise
Nosedive kicks off with a clean guitar line that’s immediately catchy melodic, sad, and unmistakably emo. A tight snare shuffle joins it, almost military in feel, setting a measured pace that builds tension without rushing. It’s a great start. The arrangement is clever, with space to breathe, and clear attention to dynamic contrast. When the distortion finally hits around the 57-second mark, it brings a satisfying crunch. The guitars get chunkier, the energy lifts, and everything feels like it’s gearing up for something more aggressive and unhinged.
That shift between clean, moody atmospheres and dense, fuzzy chaos is where the band shines. Fans of Turnstile, Movements, and Microwave will feel right at home there’s a clear lineage here, but also a sense of personal stamp. The parts are well-written. The band knows how to let a riff land, let a rest breathe, and avoid overcrowding the space. You can tell Landscapes & Landslides understand the genre inside out.
Drums: Tasteful Playing, Slightly Muffled Toms
Let’s talk drums because there’s a lot of good going on here. Tracked professionally by Asier Lopez at Chem19, the kit work is tight, expressive, and stylistically on point. The snare rolls in the intro give the song a real sense of direction, and the subtle fills throughout the track are well-judged. There’s no overplaying just thoughtful, groove-focused execution.
However, in the verse sections where toms take the spotlight, things get a little lost. The definition of the tom work dips, slightly buried under the surrounding guitars and vocal layers. It’s not a track-wide issue the overall drum mix sits comfortably most of the time but bringing those toms forward just a touch would help add more clarity to the verses and enhance the track’s dynamic push and pull.
Vocals: Genre-Accurate, But Lacking Raw Truth
Christopher Williams takes the lead on both writing and vocals and it’s here that things get trickier. Sonically, he hits the classic emo template. It’s nasal, slightly strained, and drenched in that early-2000s emotional affectation that fans of American Football or The Get Up Kids might appreciate.
But after a few listens, the delivery starts to feel a little too genre-accurate almost performative. There’s a good voice under there, that much is clear, but it’s being filtered through a lens of what emo should sound like, rather than letting something more natural cut through. It feels like Chris is trying to match the vibe rather than tell the truth. For a track this lyrically serious, a bit more vocal authenticity would go a long way.
Lyrics with Real Bite and Relevance
Lyrically, though, Nosedive hits some powerful targets. Inspired by the Black Mirror episode of the same name, the song reflects on the twisted relationship between digital performance and real life. There’s commentary on social approval, body image, and gender-based violence, all rooted in a personal narrative that doesn’t feel preachy. It’s subtle but heavy. Chris manages to weave global anxieties into personal lines that feel lived-in, not abstract.
If you strip away the vocal tone and focus on the actual words, there’s honesty and pain here. And that’s where the heart of the song lives not in the delivery, but in the message.
Final Verdict: Close, But Still Surfacing
Nosedive is a good track with flashes of greatness. The arrangement is strong, the dynamic shifts are well-plotted, and the instrumentation holds your attention. The guitar tones are lush, the transitions are smooth, and the band sounds tight. There’s a ton of potential here and it’s clear the band is levelling up.
But right now, the execution doesn’t quite match the ambition. The tom work in the verses loses definition, and the vocals lean too far into genre mimicry to feel fully believable. What could’ve been a raw, gut-punching emo anthem ends up sitting somewhere in the middle solid, listenable, but not yet unforgettable.
That said, there’s enough here to keep a close eye on Landscapes & Landslides. They’re not just playing the genre they’re trying to push it forward. And with another single due later this year and a live show lined up at Nice N Sleazy (Glasgow) on September 6th, they’ve got every chance to make that next leap.
Echo Scale™: 3.6/5 ★★★☆☆
A beautifully arranged and lyrically relevant track that’s let down slightly by vocal stylisation and a few mix decisions. Full of promise, just not quite at full flight.
