I remember the first time that I heard of “Lonely Avenue” they were presented to me as the band that was going to bring “Easycore” back, but it soon became clear that the band was much more capable than that, because of this I was more than excited to find out how they evolved their sound on their new Ep, “Strong Enough to Fall”
Opener “Ashland” immediately shows off the bands evolved sound, as the band seems to mix post-hardcore style instrumentals with a pop punk feel to the whole song. Lyrically the song introduces the story the ep follows, with the lines referring to not feeling “Strong enough to fall”
“Caffeine Dreams” contrast with opener “Ashland” and its instrumentals feel more like a classic pop punk song, with that being said the band does give it their own twist, with the vocals and lyrics being more balled like. The vocals also give an emotional high not on the choruses. Lyrically the song talks about tired thoughts and caffeine fueled overthinking.
“Short Story” brings back the bands Easycore sound and feels like a happy contrast with the other songs on the Ep. The fast drums and grunting vocals bring you back to the 2010 wave of pop punk. Only the lyrics seem to have a deeper story than those songs. The verses themselves follow the pop punk sound the band has been showing most of the Ep, Lyrically the song discusses the breakdown of the protagonist and how his feelings are just, a short story.
On to my favorite track of the Ep “Small Talk”. This song keeps rolling with the energy introduced on “Short Story” but takes things back into normal pop punk territory, with a heavy edge. What I like mostly is the vocal flows on both the bridge and the chorus. lyrically the song talks about letting people go and dealing with the fact that they are no longer part of your life.
And last but not least “Defeated” taking things into an even heavier direction, the song kicks of from the start and only slows down on the bridge. The track also has the biggest hook on the chorus of all the songs on the Ep. Lyrically this is where the story of the album ends, with the protagonist ready to take life as it comes.
In contrast to, their 2019 release “Attack on Robot Pirate Island” this Ep seems to take it’s a bit more seriously, but still has his fun. The band shows that they perfected the Easycore sound but are not above experimenting and introducing other influences to it. Together this result’s in an Ep filled with the pop hooks found in pop punk and the heavy and upbeat nature of Easycore, with darker subjects. I’m hopping they will evolve this heavy pop punk sound even further on future releases.
Songs of “Strong Enough to Fall” you should check out
“Ashland”
“Short Story”
“Defeated”