The Beginning of the Middle,
Hollywood EndingThis E.P is definetly worthy of huge things, if Hollywood Ending work hard enough to promote it. Their recent tour with 3 Colours Red was probably not quite aiming at the audience they need to be selling mass copies to, but probably enough to get word spread around of their music.
It's apparent right from the beginning with this record that the production is of an amazingly high quality, one of the ties of being signed to Mighty Atom is you get to use their high quality studios in Wales. The guitars are loud and powerful and dominate the songs, while the rest of the instruments pack out the sound. There are lots of changes in strumming patterns and chord progressions from the start, which brings this music out of the simple punk rock genre, where bands like 3 Colours Red sit, and gives Hollywood Ending a shade of hardcore roots. Comparisons to Funeral for a Friend might not be too distant, although minus as much screaming.
Track 1, “You To Myself” is probably the track that most people are going to get to know, I believe that this is by far strongest track on this E.P from the frightening bass line to which it hopes and then building into a storming mix up of guitar and melody, before rolling through the aggressive chorus. To me there cannot be a more outstanding way to open an E.P than by using this track. Track 4, “Beginning of the Middle” seems to have the catchiest vocal melody ever, but my general sense is has been used somewhere before…. (Anyone who can identify it, send your answers on a postcard to Punktastic Towers) This will bring you basic similarities to Taking Back Sunday and some American emo-core bands. The rest of the E.P is made up with “By Fault or Design” and the moderately toned down “TV’s in Cars.” Both continue to bring out sing-a-long choruses and powerful guitars.
What impresses me by Hollywood Ending is having seen them live, and being so impressed with their power and energy, their E.P captures all this and isn’t just some sort of watered down effort that so many bands fall victim to. Regardless of the quality studio the band worked in, it still takes a lot to work this much vigour into a record. Maybe this E.P is a year to late, but when it comes to British labels picking up on what America has been churning up for years before, its always the case right?
Pete
