This debut full-length from Baltimore alt prog-rockers Megosh is, by the band’s own admission, “a total desertion” from 2014’s much-hyped Body Works EP.
Lead single I Stole From The Dead flirts with analogue synths amidst an undercurrent of ambient melodies and their signature three-part harmonies, but it’s actually wildly catchy, riff- driven opener Checkerboards & Cigarettes that packs the greater aural punch. The rest of the record plays with tempos and textures, from the languid acoustics of Carrying Fire to the tinkling keys of piano-led ballad Jackson Pollock’s Portrait Of Kennedy. There are intermittent forays into alt-metal territory; closer War Drums almost sounds like a different band with its complex fret-wrangling and breakdowns, but the pop sensibilities are undeniable with Josh Grosscup’s soaring vocals sitting somewhere between The Color Morale’s Garret Rapp and Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump. Apostasy may not be a groundbreaking release, but it boasts sufficient eclecticism to engage listeners – despite Megosh’s tendency to tread the generic path over the album’s 14 tracks.