There seems to be an unwritten rule understood by miserable musicians. The rule states that sad music must not have hooks, that hooks are too joyful for sad music. Very few bands rebel against this and the best of this minority happens to be Pallbearer. The music on Heartless bleeds misery while each song packs enough hooks to make this expression truly memorable. Bleak music is at its best when it has the ability to haunt you, to serve as soundtrack to overcast days and singular, solemn moments. The hooks here could be in the form of a soaring, sing-along chorus or something more subtle, a fleeting over-driven guitar lead with the perfect amount of delay to assist the memory in holding on to it. Heartless is full of these moments, but the reason Pallbearer made it to my number two spot this year is the final track, "A Plea For Understanding." Over the course of its ambitious 12 minute run-time, this final track is melancholy manifest, a perfectly written song that teases and tugs the heart strings before ripping them clean out of your chest by the time the chorus hits. While most albums from past years will gradually lose their place in my rotation, Heartless will have permanence there as long as I'm breathing.
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