The Separation remind me a bit of Faith No More brought up on a diet of early 2000s emo rock. There’s something in the vocals, particularly the delivery, that reminds of Mike Patton. And there’s something in the off-kilter song structures which reminds me of that too. ‘Retire Your Engines’ isn’t strictly my thing, but I quite enjoyed listening to it nonetheless. It’s driving, passionate rock that I could imagine being played in a few alternative clubs. There are some ‘big’ choruses without being too catchy and some highly impressive guitar work. ‘Black Wire’ is a fantastic opener, while ‘The Distance Between Us‘ reminded me a little bit of the PT-friendly bands Blitz Kids and Cut The Blue Wire, especially vocally. Over the course of an entire album the trick wears a little thin and I’d score an EP a little bit higher, but as a band that had previously passed me by this is fairly good stuff.
