The Groundbreaking Ceremony

Don't Tell Me What I Can't Do EP

Written by: PP on 24/12/2012 14:23:10

If you like your pop punk clean and polished with a slice of emotion on the side, then look no further than The Groundbreaking Ceremony from Pennsylvania. For their sophomore EP "Don't Tell me What I Can't Do" they have enlisted producers Paul Leavitt and John Naclerio to handle the knobs, resulting in a smooth-sailing mid 2000s pop punk sound that draws equally much from old Fall Out Boy as it does from the mainstream pop punk of Yellowcard and Hit The Lights. Although not necessarily 'emo' per se, their vocalist's croons are just whiny enough to make the connection feel inescapable. It's not a negative remark here, but just to make you aware what you're getting into here.

Though they are slightly mellow in places, for the most part they find themselves in textbook pop punk territory with catchy melodies and good vocal harmonies driving the songs home. "Psalm 51", for instance, is essentially a power pop ballad with a slow tempo and plenty of quiet sections, but the chorus vocals are vintage Fall Out Boy here, hence it's difficult not to sing along to the "hold on, hold on" choruses. The other tracks on the EP are mostly faster pop punk, but they are extremely polished and clean, which means a big sound on one hand, but an almost complete lack of character on the other. When we're getting used to the charismatic delivery of the rawer 'defend pop punk'/reactionary movement, singers like this guy just don't come across as interesting anymore. That said, it's a catchy little EP which has few flaws other than its blatant unoriginality.

7

Download: 19:35, Eleventh And Bleeker
For the fans of: old Fall Out Boy, Yellowcard, Hit The Lights
Listen: Facebook

Release date 12.06.2012
Self-Released

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