Rock on, wee lads!
This is something unexpected. A Pop/Punk band from Glasgow. Yep, you heard it right! Wolves At Heart are a good solid Pop/Punk band too, mixing up fast guitars with twist and turns of melodies. You won’t find any Scottish accents here though and I guess I’m undecided as to whether this is good or bad thing, as the band have a tendency to sound like many other bands. I also can’t help but think of Matt Skiba singing with Avoid One Thing on the song, ‘Pop Punk Band’ whereby they count off the things you need to do, be, say or wear to be in a Pop Punk band, one of them being, “…and I wanna sing like Tom Delonge!”, which Keir does. Not a problem for me though.
So here we have this unsigned band’s EP entitled, ‘Be Your Own Best Friend’ which as a whole is very good and enjoyable. First song, ‘Sorry Excuse For A Scene’ is lyrically about being drawn into a fad, pretending to be part of a group for the sake of fashion and not because of belief in what the group stands for. Musically it sounds very much like Blink 182 from the ‘Dude Ranch’-era, however as you can tell there is a more serious message to the band. ‘Be You Own Best Friend’ has more chugging Metal guitar riffs and leans more towards a band like Saves The Day with a hint of Get Up Kids. This again shows that the band are more of a thinking-man’s-Pop-Punk band.
There is a nice versatility to the band which shows in the yo-yo vocals of, ‘You can’t buy A Backbone’. The music is fuelled with an old skool Metal feel in, ‘This Is What You Get’, with some great riffs and double-bass-pedal action. The vocals harmonize back to the melodies of Pop/Punk but you can see the depth that lies behind. Last song, ‘We Still Try’ is more thoughtful and one of those songs that will grow more and more with each listen. You could suggest that the band are a little bit like an Emo-Pop-Punk band like Brand New, Get Up Kids or Fall Out Boy, and this isn’t a bad thing. Whilst bands like Blink 182 and Bowling For Soup do well with the poop and fart jokes, sometimes it’s the band with the thoughtful insightful lyrics that last longer.
This is a very good EP, and it is once again surprising that this band are unsigned. I would wager that this may not be for long and that we will be hearing a little more about these Scottish lads in the future. Rock on!