StayOkay!

Time To Grow EP

Written by: PP on 20/03/2012 15:57:03

StayOkay! are a little known alternative rock band from Dublin, Ireland, but that's about to change real soon if the group keeps releasing records like "Time To Grow" EP, hands down the best record by an unsigned band I've heard in at least a year. It's full of songs that aren't just your amateurish production and so-so songwriting, this is straight to the big leagues type of material capable of competing with the likes of Twin Atlantic, Lower Than Atlantis and perhaps also Biffy Clyro if you really want to hype up the EP.

Basically, StayOkay! take the original emo vibe from the 90s and package it with driving, fresh alternative rock swagger borrowed from Lower Than Atlantis, and inject it with sappy melodies that vary between bittersweet emotion and explosively melodic vocal hooks. You can dub it indie flavored alt rock, or emotionally tinged alternative rock, but whichever the term, one thing is for sure: this is music full of heart, passion and fervent honesty. The songs are well executed and build up to fantastic climaxes, and oh my, then there are the pipes of their vocalist. So much emotion and passion packed into a high pitch voice without sounding irritating or whiny. Few vocalist are able to do this successfully, hence we only see a couple of bands like LTA, Twin Atlantic, and if you go further back, Piebald and Further Seems Forever, and why not also Dashboard Confessional when we're talking about Chris Carrabba.

There's a brilliant dynamic between the high pitch guitar melodies and the passionate, charismatic vocal performance that's from the absolute top of emotional alternative rock league table. It's never overtly dramatic like many of the emo/post hardcore bands today, but rather just sentimental and nostalgic in nature, so it avoids the trap of sounding teenage cliché for the most part. this is an important distinction between StayOkay! and the other high pitch vocalist fielding bands, and one that makes them much better in my books. Of course it helps to have written some insanely catchy melodies on every song of the four track EP. You probably haven't heard of this band before given how small they are, but if they continue to write music as good as on "Time To Grow" EP, they'll blow up in no time.

Download: Lay Your Worries To The Grave
For the fans of: Further Seems Forever, Piebald, Twin Atlantic, Lower Than Atlantis, The Academy Is...
Listen: Bandcamp

Release date 16.01.2012
Self-Released

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