After enthralling the masses with a string of EPs and a split under their name, South Jersey’s Major League have now delivered what will without a doubt be seen as a long-overdue full-length effort, in the name of Hard Feelings, finally stepping up to the plate to solidify the hype which has garnered the band for so long.
The record sets off at an exhilarating pace with the title track Hard Feelings, encompassing a fresh notable classic '90s Skate Punk ambience with its tilting riff, from the classic bass drop the band from the get go show their determination in alleviating any doubtful perceptions. The record then launches into Walk Away immediately afterwards employing the hook, line and sinker of melody, rhetoric and angst as vocalist Nick Trask roars "You took my things and left me for dead, like the novelty books under your bed", with an anthemic chorus that is hard not to imagine a large call and response within a live dynamic setting.
The record then proceeds into Twenty Seven where the sharp edged riff is infectious forcing you to mimic the riff while it resonates within your skull. Arrows Crossed also shares similar delights incorporating an overwhelming surge of melody with the gang vocal choral chant of "The time-bomb is ticking and it’s ready to blow, I know at any given moment that it’s set to explode...".
A maturity is present within Hard Feelings as the band show how they’ve come leaps and bounds in terms of the musicianship and identity between The Truth Is... and on the Cities And States split. The band no longer sit comfortably within the restraints of Pop Punk but rage within the vast terrains of classic Punk similar to Pulley's Self-Esteem Driven Engine and early-No Use For A Name while still retaining the glints of their own integral sound as Major League.
Major League succeed in employing a song craft ability which would undeniably transcend to a breadth of people who have ever felt compassion in the most severe and uplifting ways. In Because Heaven Knows the words "If I could speak to God, I’d give him hell, like the kind he’d put in your life..." perfectly embodies a shameless bitterness, as Trask layers his raw words with a solemn melody which is encapsulating as the band employ a cinematic dynamic subtle shift behind him.
Vocalist Nick Trask gives an earnest vocal performance, where he takes command of his voice inflicting the palette of the listener’s conscious with his shades of conviction and angst. In Nightmares Trask epitomizes sincerity declaring "I never said that I was a standby, maybe it’s time to find a new one, I’ve got problems of my own, that’s why I’m alone...". The most endearing performance is on one of the standout tracks, Homewrecker where Trask possesses an insatiable might to express the empathetic proverbial notion of experiencing the bend before the break where the chills envelopes the listeners as if watching the images of a demise in front of themselves. Trask sets the standard for the most distinguished vocal performance which has been prevalent in this niche of punk for years with his constant earth shattering delivery.
Final thoughts aptly closes the record with a reprise to opener the title track with its melodic sensibility of carrying the sentiment of holding a strong sense of hope in the face of adversity which laces the record.
Hard Feelings is an ambitious record in its success and initiative in meshing the traits of classic '90s Punk and Skate Punk with an intent to reinvigorate an authentic sound and also the Major League we all know well. With their first full-length effort the band have surpassed the doubts of the many facets of the implications the hype machine can have. It’s hard not to imagine the heights Hard Feelings will propel the band to.
Tracklist:
1. Hard Feelings
2. Walk Away
3. Twenty Seven
4. Nightmares
5. Arrows Crossed
6. Landslide
7. Because Heaven Knows
8. Pull Me Out
9. Home Wrecker
10. Final Thoughts
Rating:
Written by Aaron Akeredolu
