Floppy hair? Check. Angular guitars? Check. Quiet/loud vocals with added screaming? Check. Exotically named guitarist? Check. If we were going by that best-selling book ‘Emo By Numbers’* The Holiday Plan, on a scale of one to generic, would reach the upper-echeleons of cliche. One glance at them is all you need to know exactly what you’re going to get – a post-hardcore/emo sound that drives and builds, with melodies offset by screaming. It’s a style that is rapidly becoming as predictable as an Arsenal victory and is already making several Punktastic reviewers’ skin crawl. It’s a good job I’m not fickle and merely review a band on the colours of their Converse.
Prior to this EP, all I knew about The Holiday Plan was that they’d had several high-profile support tours, seemingly out of nowhere, and they’d become a band it’s cool not to like. On doing my research, it would seem Blue Quinn (yes, that’s the exotically named guitarists’ real-life moniker) and company are actually backed by Island Records and have already recorded songs with Taking Back Sunday and Thursday producer Sal Villaneuva. Somebody, somewhere really likes this band. Suffice to say I’m always a little wary of bands who have been apparently fast-tracked to this level and expected ‘The Green Lights‘ EP to knock me out. Sadly, it doesn’t.
To me all of the generic cliches I’ve previously mentioned are present in the music. It’s as predictable as me writing a crap cliche to comapre a predictable thing. Lead-off single ‘Wasting Time’ follows every single rule in the (imaginary) book, and while it’s so completely inoffensive, it becomes offensive by being such a nothing track. Sure, everything is in the right place but this has been done to death a million times. Sadly for THP, it’s been done a million times before by better bands. ‘Stories’ is far, far better mind, with a huge melodic chorus pulling up a sinking ship. At least this song shows The Holiday Plan do at least have some nous about them, even if the appalling named ‘ Black Clouds Over Hackney’ again could have been ripped from any other Yank band.
So, to recap. This is my first experience of The Holiday Plan. I haven’t seen them live. I don’t know them as people. On the basis of four songs, the horrible generalisations I shouldn’t have to base my opinion on, are simply there for all to see and hear. It’s impossible to ignore. The songs are generic and bands like these seemingly come off the conveyor belt at the emo factory. One good song from four (two are distinctly average, one crap) does not signal a lasting future. Having said that, what do I know….
* Please note, this book doesn’t exist. Yet. But if it did, it would probably be the best emo book in the world.
www.theholidayplan.com
Island Records