Wigan quartet Smudge certainly sound like the finished article on this three-track EP. Add in the fact they have supposedly supported The Used, Rise Against, Aiden, Zebrahead, Gallows, Self Against City, The Blackout and many more makes it all the more remarkable I’ve never heard of them before. They obviously have some support behind them but it’s obviously not translating well on a national scale yet. This three-tracker suggests the band do have some talent and the ability to make a name for themselves. They write big-sounding pop punk efforts with hooks and choruses and multi-layered vocal harmonies. At times they sound like Fastlane, at others Simple Plan. But the result is pretty much the same on each of the three songs on this EP. ‘Flatline’ is possibly the best of the trio with a strong riff and a solid chorus, although both of the other two songs are cleverly written with solid structures and decent singalongs. If the band can take these songs on the road for a sustained period of time I’m sure they’d race up the pop-punk ladder in no time.
