Shotgun No Blitz

Letters To Myself EP

Written by: PP on 23/12/2013 22:44:07

Shotgun No Blitz is an emotionally charged alternative rock band from Lebanon, PA, who released their sophomore EP "Letters To Myself" earlier this year via Painted Ox Records. Their style basically borrows equally much from the darker corners of the emo scene as it does from pop punk, meaning that many of the tracks on the EP qualify for the pop punk tag at least technically, but are nowhere near as bright in terms of vocals or instrumentals as the norm in the genre.

Instead, they offer a melancholic, darker soundscape overall, where emo-tinged vocals are delivered over a platform of chords and riffs ranging from mid tempo to much faster material. "Persevere" is an exception with its brighter tone, but as a whole "Letters To Myself" has much more in common with the Living With Lions type of pop punk than, say, the sad melancholic realism of The Wonder Years, albeit sounding less happy in comparison. Now, as we have seen other bands demonstrate so well in the past, this is fine as long as you couple great lyrics together with solid riffs. Unfortunately, Shotgun No Blitz does neither.

Throughout the EP we're presented with songs that are dead on mediocre for a variety of reasons. The singing isn't terrible, but it's not memorable at all, and the vocal hooks need some serious work before they'll be making an impression. The riffs? Not bouncy enough, not catchy enough, yet decent compared to so many other bands. Simply put, their sound is way too anonymous overall to leave any sort of impression on its listener.

5

Download: Bystander, Persevere
For the fans of: Tag Your Targets, Misconduct
Listen: Facebook

Release date 21.05.2013
Painted Ox Records

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