Lineup changes between records have been something of a hallmark for The Amity Affliction, but the core duo of founding members bassist/vocalist Ahren Stringer and lead guitarist Troy Brady had persisted ever since the band formed in 2003. 2014’s Let The Ocean Take Me almost routinely replaced recent addition Imran Siddiqi with current guitarist Dan Brown—but it was unusually significant in this regard in that it saw the departure of Brady after 11 years with the Gympie quartet. Being that Stringer and lead singer Joel Birch has been writing the bulk of the band’s music since their 2008 debut, Severed Ties, this dramatic changing of the guard did little to waylay The Amity Affliction’s patented attack of melodic hardcore’s high contrast. Singles “Don’t Lean on Me” and “The Weigh Down” were immediate testaments to that—as well as the band’s thematic insistence. Let The Ocean Take Me continued the unerring exploration of depression and suicide that came to a head on 2012’s controversial Chasing Ghosts, but the fact that its cover art was suggestive rather than explicit this time around was also telling of artistic lessons learned. There’s a renewed sensitivity to orbiting the heady topics of serious sadness that obsess Birch, as famously transparent about his own mental health issues as he is in person and on record. “Never Alone” dives deepest into such multi-faceted complexities with an atypical tinge of the ’80s and an outro wholly composed of a hopeless friend’s voicemail, while opener “Pittsburgh” details Birch’s disappointment after being revived from a near-death experience—resonating with listeners so profoundly that it’s since achieved genre-classic status.