If you get over the initial ‘are they really named after a character in the OC?’ feeling Atwood are bound to induce, you may realise this is a band on the up. I chastised the quintet previously for sounding like a carbon copy of a tonne of Fueled By Ramen soundalikes, but with far worse production, so it’s great to see the band have worked on their strengths and recorded with a well-known and respected knob-twiddler in Jim Turner. The results, while still relatively generic, are much better and show plenty of promise. The leap between the two albums is very noticeable, particularly in song structure.
While the EP’s title track seems a little fractured and maybe doesn’t quite flow as it should, it’s certainly the band’s best song. The vocals are very Waking Ashland-esque, yet hit all the right notes. It’s a pity there’s a token ballad here – ‘High Five Contract’ sounds like Taking Back Sunday unplugged – as that makes this record sound a little more generic than it actually is. On the whole, however, Atwood have vastly improved and are beginning to find their own sound. And this is certainly something to be applauded. if this level of progress can continue to be made I think the band can carve a nice little future for themselves.