Batten Down The Hatches

Beginnings EP

Written by: PP on 15/11/2012 22:39:06

Batten Down The Hatches are a pop punk band from New Jersey, whose band interests are 'planking' and 'acting like dinosaurs' amongst other things, which should already be a tell-tale sign for whether you're going to like them or not. "Beginnings" is their sophomore EP, featuring three tracks of bouncy, under produced pop punk / pop-hardcore from the Set Your Goals school of thought, and one raw acoustic ballad that's basically the same formula delivered acoustically.

Essentially, if you're at all into the anthemic, hook-laden pop punk of bands like Veara, With The Punches, and even the first Four Year Strong album, there's plenty to like here. Especially opener "Draw The Line" is infectious, even though it does come awfully close to copying "Mutiny!"-era Set Your Goals during its raw build-up shouts that contrast the otherwise smooth cleans. "Rich Mahogany" isn't any less catchy afterwards, and as you progress through the short record it becomes clear that it's not songwriting that hinders the band rather than the production. Being a low-budget self-production, the guitars sound a little bit muddy in the mix, and the backing vocals almost drown into the fuzzy, but warm melody lines. Gotta chop off some points from the rating for that one unfortunately, but the good news is that the songs are mostly solid, albeit not necessarily original.

Download: Draw The Line
For the fans of: Veara, old Four Year Strong, With The Punches, old Set Your Goals
Listen: Facebook

Release date 27.04.2012
Self-Released

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