It’s always a genuine pleasure when I receive a CD like this one, an EP from two bands I’d never previously encountered that proceeds to impress me greatly. Having long been a devotee of melodic punk rock it’s interesting to still be able to find bands that sound both traditional and innovative at the same time, and this split is a prime example of just that.
Kicking off with the excellent ‘Fortress Europe’, the tone is immediately set for strong riffs and energetic drumming, all held together by the scratchy vocals that all laced with enough passion and power to not be overshadowed by the impressive musicianship on display. What sets ‘Fortress Europe’ aside from the majority of punk tracks I’ve heard recently is the fact that it deals with socially relevant and political issues without sounding contrived or hackneyed, and the sense that there is a real desire to get a message out pervades the entire song. Interestingly enough this is the only political track on the EP but doesn’t sound out of place next to the more introspective ‘My Own Way’, which uses a few simple melodies to strong effect as the guitars bounce off each other as the bass drives the body of the song along.
Even though ‘Best Of Three’ sounds like a lame American pop-rock track it’s by far the weakest track on the EP and as such is easily forgettable. It’s the only instance when the structures and riffs are predictable and might not appear so bad if it were on an EP of generally lower quality but seeing as the bar is set so high it just doesn’t make the cut, especially when placed next to the interestingly-named ‘Chuffnut’ which has such a catchy riff that it immediately makes ‘Best Of Three’ sound pedestrian in comparison. By far the most striking aspect of the EP is that there is rarely a moment when there isn’t some kind of melodic riff played at high speed, or a guitar augmenting the main rhythm line with a simple motif.
Yet again, UK punk rock has come up trumps and these two bands are surely going to be making a name for themselves in the coming months if there is any justice. Without any kind of ego or the sense that they’re jumping on the bandwagon they’ve produced six tracks of high-quality abrasive punk rock that is impressive in the way that it manages to sound both like rock and punk at the same time. Excellent.
Ben
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