Winchester quartet secondmonday are beginning to make a bit of a name for themselves down south and on the evidence of their new EP ‘If It Calls Out To You’, it’s not too difficult to see why. Produced by John Mitchell, the record has a very clean and polished feel, rare for a demo, and has a very accomplished sound – even rarer for a band with an average age just pushing 17. But even with most of the things in the right place, this EP is just more of the same post-hardcore fare that keeps coming and there’s nothing particularly new or original.
The tracks on offer are good but over repeated plays lose their effect. The musicianship is excellent bearing in mind the relative inexperience of the members, the vocals are of a good standard (even if some of the lyrics are indecipherable) and the riffs aren’t too cliched. But where the EP as a whole falls down is that there isn’t too much of anything new. ‘Without Answers’ and ‘There Is No Reason’ are soaring melodic slabs of crashing guitars and drums, but there’s nothing amazing to hook you in for more than a few listens. Having said that, they are certainly on the right track and with a bit of work youth will certainly aide them in their development.
secondmonday only score 3 because they’re not doing anything different to the myriad of bands peddling their post-hardcore wares across the country. But, and this is a big but, the foursome are certainly on the right track, both as songwriters and musicians. This record shows there is immense promise and if they can find their own sound, rather than going down the same route as the Taking Back Finch‘s of this world, we may, just may, be looking at a very good band…
www.secondmonday.net
Paul