Jersey Beat reviews Topdown album

Paul Silver from Jersey Beat reviewed Topdown’s The Earth & All Its Pavement and had this to say about it:

“Austin band Topdown may have only been around since 2024 but they’ve hit the ground running and are already releasing their sophomore LP. The five-piece band plays a sweet blend of post-hardcore, emo, and melodic hardcore, their songs filled with crunch, broad, smooth melodies, and a contrasting mix of lush romantic and hard-edged gritty vocals. I love the way the album opens, with ‘Adrenaline.’ We get a background whine and a big clanging bass in the foreground for a few bars, and then the whole band comes in with explosive energy, Grace’s lead vocals croon with passion. The contrast of the hard-edged pummeling instrumentals and the gorgeous torch song vocals is something to behold. ‘Dissonance,’ which follows, is a broad striding track with moments of pure romance, and it’s about not knowing how to love properly, according to Grace. Another favorite is ‘Coping,’ which sometimes jangles with dreamy indie pop vibes, and other times hits you square in the jaw with a big one-two combination punch. There’s also the lovely ‘Interlude,’ which is the stuff of sweet dreams, coming right before the album closer, ‘Sentimental,’ a song that leans heavily into the smooth 2000s emo sound. Topdown’s big dynamic range and the ease in which they cross-blend genres makes The Earth & All Its Pavement a winner.