Before you know what's hit you, it's over -- four tracks (five, really, but we'll get to that in a minute) and less than ten minutes of old-school/louder-faster-harder hardcore punk that draws on all the obvious 1980s influences but is still clearly informed by the late-'90s wave of emotionally charged bands like
Strife and
Integrity. This eponymous EP contains familiar paeans to "the scene" ("Every one of you means the world to me/I wouldn't trade this for anything/We've got to stick together"), predictable rage against growing up ("Turn Cold"), and unsurprising intimations of suicide ("Pale"). It also includes an unpredictable (and unlisted) cover version of
the Unbroken's "Fall on Proverb." Innovative these guys are not, but they blast through any concerns on that score with sheer instrumental velocity and pathos; singer Gibby treads that fine line between self-revelation and self-indulgence with surprising deftness and maturity, and the band's disciplined roar is the perfect complement to his hoarse rage. Recommended.