Jesusfreakhideout.com celebrates 30 Years online in 2026... Get Your Music - and everything else - on Amazon! All purchases made on Amazon through this link earn a commission for Jesusfreakhideout.com!
Jesusfreakhideout.com celebrates 30 Years online in 2026... Get Your Music - and everything else - on Amazon! All purchases made on Amazon through this link earn a commission for Jesusfreakhideout.com!

JFH Indie Review

JFH Indie Music Spotlight Review

So Much Hope, Buried.
I'd Be Lying To Say I'm Not Weak

Street Date: May 17, 2024
Style: Post-Hardcore
Buy It: Bandcamp


 
  
IdBeLyingToSayImNotWeak
READER RATING: 
/ 5.0 (0 votes)
When a good thing is discovered, it usually doesn't stay hidden (or, in this case, buried) for long. So Much Hope, Buried.'s I'd Be Lying To Say I'm Not Weak is a special album that has captivated many of us on staff here at JFH. If you are familiar with their Sentiment EP, you will notice while both releases could be considered post-hardcore, there is an obvious shift in vocals. While Sentiment had primarily screamed vocals, this full-length debut features clean vocalist Derek Nowak as lead singer. We are also introduced to a slew of sonic surprises. The biggest sprinklings of musical delight include an explosive saxophone solo from Nowak on "Idle Hands," some trade-off vocals with guitarist Andrew Blank which gives a pop-punk flair on "Complacency" and "Speaking In Poetry," and an unconventional bridge on "Vacant Home" featuring screamed vocals in Japanese from Mochinaga of Fall of Tears. Each track is unique and expertly crafted, whether it be haunting and beautiful, energetic and bombastic, or dynamically shifting between the two.

But make no mistake, I'd Be Lying To Say I'm Not Weak is a focused album. In addition to always finding a home base in their melodic post-hardcore sound, it also dives deep into the mind of a man "frozen in time" who is mentally struggling over a broken relationship that dissolved 3 years ago. We feel his emptiness ("Vacant Home"), his struggle for sanity ("Lucid"), and his straight-up sadness ("Worry About Me") expressed in the vocal delivery as well as through the music. On "Vacant Home," an ambient electric guitar, relatively monotone vocals, and a lone, reverb-heavy kick drum beautifully convey a sense of emptiness in the first part of each verse. "Fade," which is the only song to have lead vocals from Andrew Blank, delivers a sense of angst as the character contemplates, "Deprived from the inside / Can't feel your arms but you're heart surrounds me." True to their name, there are glimpses of hope to be found throughout. This is most apparent in the songs "Lucid" and "I'd Be Lying To Say I'm Not Weak," which have psalm-like qualities of crying out to God. The last chorus of the album leaves us with this: "I spend my life, to see your holy light / The way that you only see the better part of me / Healing wounds when I bleed / I'd be lying to say I'm not..."

Shorter than the lengthy album title suggests, I'd Be Lying To Say I'm Not Weak is over in a very digestible 31 minutes. The impressive moments on "Idle Hands" and "Vacant Home" may draw you in initially, but it's the melodic delivery and intentional lyrical and musical details that get you hooked. Tied all together with excellent production from drummer and engineer Eric Novroski, So Much Hope, Buried. is the complete package. This has been my favorite album of at least the past five years. It is a must-listen record, and it's exciting to think about where they might go from here.

- Review date: 10/24/24, written by Christopher Smith of Jesusfreakhideout.com




(JFH Sponsor Spot)

Get a FREE month of VidAngel on us when you sign up!


 

 

JFH Indie Spotlight Review . Record Label: None
. Album length: 10 tracks: 31 minutes, 41 seconds
. Street Date: May 17, 2024
. Buy It: Bandcamp
. Buy It: SoMuchHopeBuried.com (CD / Vinyl)
. Buy It: Amazon Music

  1. You're Not Home When I Wake (0:39)
  2. Vacant Home (Feat. Mochinaga from Fall of Tears) (4:48)
  3. Complacency (3:23)
  4. Lucid (3:43)
  5. Fade (3:05)
  6. Idle Hands (4:05)
  7. Worry About Me (3:22)
  8. Speaking in Poetry (3:41)
  9. Intercessor (1:02)
  10. I'd Be Lying to Say I'm Not Weak (3:53)

 

 

 

go to main Indie review page
go to Indie Review Index

 

                 
Get a FREE month of VidAngel on us when you sign up!

Search JFH



This Thursday, May 28, 2026
SINGLES
Stryper I'm Alright, (I'm Okay) - Single [Frontiers]

This Friday, May 29, 2026
ALBUMS
Benjamin William Hastings x Aodhán King Happy To Be Here [Anotherland/Capitol CMG]
Dojo Saints Dojo Saints (independent)
Every Moment Holy: Prayer Songs 2026 Q2 (independent)
Heartbound Lamentations (independent)
Narnia X [Sound Pollution]
Skye Peterson Through Line (independent)
Mike Rogers Mike Rogers [Gaither]
Tenroc God Is A Person [Provident]
Various Artists Rock, Paper, Scissors, METAL: Vol. 4 [JFH Music]
Various Artists To Hell with the Devil - A 40th Anniversary Salute [Roxx]

SINGLES
Abandoned Pools Einstein's Space and Van Gogh's Sky - Single (independent)
Lady Audri IOU - Single [Syntax]
Bill B. The usual - Single [Syntax]
Dex the nerd who loves Jesus Battlefront (Spiritual War) - Single [Syntax]
Gracie Binion & John Wilds Show Me Your Face - Single [BEC]
KNGDM REVIVAL Psalm 44 - Single [Dream]
Hillside Recording Every Morning - Single [Ocean House]
Vic Lucas Joy is Coming - Single [Syntax]
Northview Worship Wildly Faithful - Single [BEC]
Matthew Plante Like You Do - Single [Dream]
Jenna Raine What Would I Say? - Single [Warner]
Saints in Exile Need an Escape - Single [Syntax]
Jordan St. Cyr Every Reason To Bellieve - Single [BEC]

VINYL
Newsboys Take Me To Your Leader (30th Anniversary Edition) [Red] [Girder]

Next Tuesday, June 2, 2026
ALBUMS
John Joseph James God of the Second Chance (independent)

Next Wednesday, June 3, 2026
SINGLES
Life.Church Switch Hunger - Single [Ocean House]

Next Friday, June 5, 2026
ALBUMS
John Allan Live from Anaheim - EP [Centricity]
August Burns Red Season of Surrender [Fearless]
Zach Williams Revival Nights at Red Rocks [Provident]

SINGLES
CAIN Living Water - Single [Provident]
The Emerging Sound, People & Songs Stand on Your Promise - Single [People & Songs]
John Long, Jake MacAdam Jesus is Better - Single [Ocean House]


For all release dates, click here!
 

Purchase Original Art Prints, Drawings, Stickers, Bookmarks and more from JFH's own John DiBiase!
Need proofreading and editing help? We've got you covered! Click here to learn more
Check out depositphotos for royalty free images