At All CostsThese natives of Wallingford, Connecticut play horn-backed youth-crew hardcore. They've only been around a short time (played their first show June 2005), but these guys definitely seemed to have garnered a solid local following in their short existence. Before the release of this EP, I'm pretty sure they just released one demo.
As mentioned, these guys are a youth-crew band, they take cues from bands such as Carry On, Battery, Chain of Strength, Turning Point, 7 Seconds. I'm always a suck for some sweet horn playing but the horns never branch out on their own and are reduced to following the same chord progressions of the guitar and bass. It sounds good but it just doesn't have that "swing" to it. The vocals are more of the talk/shout sort of thing then the straight up screaming, so think ever so slightly of the Civ type of delivery. For me the most stand out track of the 6 on this EP is "Push Ahead" which features Sweet Pete from In My Eyes doing guest vocals. This song is shorter than the rest (clocking out at 1:45), whereas the rest of the tracks tend to get over the 2-3 minute mark. It's fast and driving but with really well used melody. I would've liked to hear more of these kinds of songs for sure.
The recording is solid, it does it's job of melding together the typical instruments with the two-man horn section. The bass tone is pretty damn solid, it's got a nice twang to it without sacrificing too much low end. The horn section sounds fairly solid, it doesn't get too loud or anything so that it muffles out any other instruments. The guitar tone is solid. The placement of the regular vocals and the gang vocals were done nicely. I liked the tone of the drums, the tom toms, snare all sound on point, as does the kick.
Not too bad of a layout but I've seen this type of design and layout one too many times though. The front cover logo with the star, roses, banners that are placed over the brown background seems like it has appeared on 50 albums if not more. The booklet is two pages and uses a simple layout, just a white background with the lyrics in black font with a photo of each band member.
Rating: 3/5
Songs Worthy of Replay: Push Ahead
Synopsis: Not a bad band, or release but it's nothing that fresh. Just because you throw in a horn section into a youth crew band doesn't make it ground breaking. They have their moments but it's not enough to keep me coming back for more. However, for the fans of the band (which there are plenty I assure you), the band will be calling it a day and will be playing one last show on July 6, 2007, at the Masonic Temple, 112 East Main St. Meriden, CT.
For more information, head over to the band's Myspace page, where you can also download this EP for free...,Click Here