Aesthetic Arrest' is just a beautiful record from front to back in its intensity, passion, and sheer power. California's Glass & Ashes have got this gloriously chaotic melodic hardcore thing down to a science, that's for sure. All 11 tracks, whether they be on the heavier side (the exceptional "Head First", "Controlled Burn", the fantastic opener "Black Beneath the Eyes", the conflicted-sounding finale "Glass Plans") or with a lighter, more delicate leaning (found more at the tail end of the album, with poignant songs such as "Bloody Knuckles" and the first part of "Off the Piranha"), are highly affecting in a Rites of Spring kind of way. The vocals are rough and yelled and full of emotion, and coupled with the intricate and gripping instrumentation in which they are enveloped, Glass & Ashes brings to mind bands like Grade and labelmates Planes Mistaken For Stars. Not bad company to be in at all.