If you like Lifetime and The Movielife at their poppiest, I guarantee Lobster Records’ newest band will be right up your street. I’m a big fan of Lobster’s alumni and having kick-started the careers of Yellowcard and Over It, and introduced us to Park and Staring Back too, almost every release they’ve put out has been worthy of your hard earned cash. It seems legendary super producer J Robbins agrees because he’s handles engineering duties on First To Leave‘s first album for Lobster – and if you’re a fan of the aforementioned bands you’ll really enjoy this 12-track album.
Matt Foster’s vocals certainly carry an air of Ari Katz about them, while the music comes across like a combination of a more considered Lifetime with the melodies of a Saves The Day. ‘The Saving Cycle’ and ‘Two Guns, One Mile’ are anthems-in-waiting, while the slower ‘The Blind Man’ will have you humming along even before the vocals kick in. One thing that really stands out is how well this record flows; songs drift nicely into one another and the guitar tone stands out from the pack – it’s easy to mimic the sound of the more popular ‘scene’ bands but First To Leave neglect to follow the same old path and should be commended. In short, this is excellent stuff and another must own Lobster release.