''Stage Four'' is the fourth studio album by the American

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...

band

Touché Amoré Touché Amoré is an American post-hardcore band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2007. The band consists of vocalist Jeremy Bolm, guitarists Clayton Stevens and Nick Steinhardt, bassist Tyler Kirby, and drummer Elliot Babin. Among other ...

. The album was released in the United States and Europe on September 24, 2016, by

Epitaph Records Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most acts signed to the label were punk and pop punk acts, while there are many post-hardcore and emo bands ...

. The album's title is in reference to it being the band's fourth album, and due to the central inspiration for most of the album's lyrics being singer

Jeremy Bolm Jeremy Bolm is an American vocalist, record label owner, music producer and writer. In his music career, he is most known for being the full-time vocalist of the post-hardcore band Touché Amoré. He has also performed with the part-time bands Thr ...

's mother, who died of cancer.

Critical reception

On its release, ''Stage Four'' received favorable reviews from music critics. At ''

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

'', which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

score of 84, based on 13 reviews. The aggregator ''

AnyDecentMusic? AnyDecentMusic? is a website that collates album reviews from magazines, websites, and newspapers. Primarily focused on popular music – covering rock, pop, electronic, dance, folk, country, roots, hip-hop, R&B, and rap – albums are adjudg ...

'' gave it 7.9 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus. In a positive review for ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

'', James Christopher Monger remarked that ''Stage Four'' "delivers a near constant barrage of gut punches, both sonic and lyrical, but tempers the fallout with a healthy dose of empathy". At ''

Drowned in Sound ''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums. History ''D ...

'', Adam Turner-Heffer wrote, "''Stage Four'' is quite possibly Touché Amoré’s best album yet. They have once again one–upped themselves into crafting a fierce record which would do all their families proud." Adam Feibel also praised the record in a review for ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'': "The album is a passionately written and deeply moving meditation on loss, and Touché Amoré have never been better as a band." Writing for ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...

'', Stephen Hill highlighted Bolm's vocals, writing, "His pain and anger are all too real and evident, and his band deserve credit for channelling his words and turning them into a musical canvas.". At ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'', Zoe Camp focused on the band's sound, writing that the album's "vivid imagery, anthemic arrangements, and unsuspecting listenability position it as hardcore's ''

Carrie & Lowell ''Carrie & Lowell'' is the seventh studio album by American musician Sufjan Stevens. It was released on March 31, 2015, by Asthmatic Kitty. It is executively produced by Stevens, and features guest contributions from Thomas Bartlett, Sean Car ...

'': an autobiographical tragedy that soars in spite of an overwhelming urge to succumb". Reviewing the album for ''

Rock Sound ''Rock Sound'' is a British magazine that covers rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, while also giving coverage to better-known acts. It generally focuses on pop punk, post-hardcore, metalcore, punk, e ...

'', Gareth Pierce called it "intimate, impressive, and ultimately cathartic", while ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

''s Kevin Warwick deemed it "a monumental record of

melodic hardcore Melodic hardcore is a broadly defined subgenre of hardcore punk with a strong emphasis on melody in its guitar work. It generally incorporates fast rhythms, melodic and often distorted guitar riffs, and vocal styles tending towards shouting and ...

Track listing

Personnel

''Stage Four'' personnel adapted from ''AllMusic''. Touché Amoré * Elliot Babin – drums, piano *

– vocals * Tyler Kirby – bass guitar, vocals * Nick Steinhardt – guitar * Clayton Stevens – guitar Guest musicians * Julien Baker – additional vocals on "Skyscraper" Production *

Brad Wood Brad Wood is an American record producer located in Los Angeles. He has produced many albums, including Liz Phair's ''Exile in Guyville'' and Placebo's debut. Career Wood is from Rockford, Illinois, United States. In 1988, Wood, along with ...

– production, engineering, mixing * Emily Lazar – mastering * Chris Allgood – assistant engineer

Charts

References

2016 albums Touché Amoré albums Epitaph Records albums Albums produced by Brad Wood {{2010s-punk-album-stub