Labels: Resolve
Review by: Ian Cavell
Collective slides further into the murky world of mysterious home made 7″s and hit-and-miss purchases. Scarper! could have been crap. In fact, passing early judgement thats exactly what I thought they were – because this ep does not possess much in the way of instant appeal.
Wrong, wrong, and more wrongs. Take the first track ‘About Nothing’. Although eclipsed somewhat by the rest of the ep it’s a rocking effort on all counts. Melodic punk-rock with raw vocals working flawlessly alongside pitch-perfect backing and with a great little riff loitering at the midway stage.
But its the song, ‘Picking Sides’, which wins my vote because it literally catapults this ep into completely new territory with its infectious ska of melodies and stupidly catchy verses. ‘Nosedive’, is equally impressive – one of those sing-over-the-quiet-bass-bits and then introduce guitars for maximum effect songs. Plus another chorus to carve a niche in your brain…
The cut-and-paste nature of the final track ‘Down The Hatch’ detracts slightly from what is otherwise a fine tune. It’s great – except that you get the nagging feeling that the band had written three songs and amalgamated the best bits to make a ‘super-tune’. More of the ska effect blended with rioting punk-rock guitars and the distinctive semi-shouty vocals.
The production is great, the packaging is elaborate and the songs just keep getting better every time I hear them. You can’t ask for much more than that.