One Step ForwardThese guys are a young band based out of Lancaster, CA and have only been around since the summer of 2005. Already they have had some lineup changes moving their bass player to drums and finding themselves a new bassist. To my knowledge this is their first release.
There are four tracks of straight up posi-hardcore that usually breaks the two minute mark. While it's not heavy in the sense of most of the modern day metallic hardcore (Shattered Realm, Hoods, etc.,), it's a little bit heavier than most of the youth crew type bands. They also do utilize some short (very short) but sweet breakdowns.
The lyrics are straight forward and pretty much just rehash what has been said at least a 1000 times by now. The band's theme song "One Step Forward" is about putting the scene back on it's feet. The song "No End In Sight" is about not giving into the mainstream way of life and not eating up everything the media feeds you. The one song that actually takes a topic that hasn't been beaten to death is "Never Allow It", which is about assholes who lay their hands on girls.
I mean the recording isn't horrible but it isn't all that good either. The guitar tone seemed a bit flat to my ears. The drums were decent, but I wasn't too thrilled with the snare tone or the kick, which was too muddy. The bass was alright. The vocals seemed to dominate the mix too much for my liking and seemed too far from the rest of the mix.. You can tell they either had: 1. A very low budget 2. Rushed through the recording process.
This is one comes packed in a very nicely designed cardboard sleeve. The layout is straight forward; it's got the youth crew styled band logo in blue over a grey background that dominates the majority of the front cover, with a black and white picture of a Californian skyline. The back is slickly designed with a tall skyscraper standing beside the song titles that are printed in the band font. The double up on the song titles that are printed in a small black cursive font looks good. The insert is printed on thick paper and includes the lyrics to the songs and credits, etc. The vinyl itself comes in two colors; yellow and red.
Rating: 3/5
Songs Worthy of Replay: Never Allow It
Synopsis: This is far from breaking any new ground. It's good for what it is though. If you eat up shit like Betrayed, Over My Dead Body, Sinking Ships, etc., you'll probably find something here you'll enjoy. To listen to some songs check out the bands myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/onestepforward661