Arguably the kings of the American post-hardcore renaissance, Touché Amoré keep on stretching themselves – and not just because their songs regularly clock three minutes now. The band has long left behind the usual hardcore fare of crumbling self-esteem; while their music is still as vulnerable as it is aggressive, it comes increasingly from a place of humble confidence. Last year’s ‘Stage Four’ is a deconstruction of grief that manages to skirt the clichés: cathartic but oddly uplifting, honest but not indulgent. It’s an invitation to share what’s usually buried away, a demonstration that we’re all stronger for confessing our fears, and a willingness to go first. And, of course, it sounds like getting flattened by a wall of amplifiers, halfway between the rugged chaos of Poison the Well and the melodic warmth of Sunny Day Real Estate. Touché Amoré are at their considerable best right now, so catch them while Jeremy Bolm’s vocal chords can still hack this shit.

Wed 22 Feb at O2 Academy, Bristol Street, Birmingham B1 1DB £14 ticketweb.co.uk