Split 7-inches are tough enough to pull off when they contain only two bands. Knockout Kid, Traditions, No Tide, and Fourth And Goal, with Take This To Heart records, are attempting to do so with four bands. This style of split is especially tricky because each band only has one song, a mere three and a half minutes of time, to convince the listener they are worth listening to and there are no ways to redeem yourself as a band if your song isn’t up to snuff. Fortunately, all four bands on this split have great promise or have already proven themselves to be capable of producing excellent songs.
Traditions starts off the split with the song "Wax & Wane". The tune is not only an introduction for the split, but also to Traditions themselves, who are a relatively-new pop punk band hailing from Massachusetts. "Wax & Wane" is the perfect kind of song you that want to start off a split with; it’s engaging, catchy, and convinces the listener to continue through the rest of the album. Traditions have a very The-Starting-Line-meets-The-Swellers feel to their music. The vocals switch between the clean nasal style, which is all-too common in this genre of music, and a hasher, half-scream vocal that is just as melodic as it is powerful. Some very nice harmonies and guitar riffs are peppered throughout the song that is driven by a driving drumbeat that never tries to be more than it is. Essentially, "Wax & Wane" is a song that hints at a promising future of music to come from Traditions.
The second band to appear on the split is Lincoln, NE’s No Tide. We’ve already heard new tunes from No Tide earlier this year with their EP Meridian, but it’s nice to hear much cleaner and polished songwriting and production on their song from the split: "Mind’s Eye View". Unfortunately, the song seems like a b-side from Meridian rather than a standalone song written for this split. After a very promising intro and double-time verse, the song hits a chorus containing the lyrics “You’re not someone I know, just someone I knew”, which comes off sounding bland and uninspired. You only hear the chorus three times in this song, but it still becomes borderline annoying to hear compared to the rest of the song, which is great. This, coupled with the fact that the song entirely too predictable, makes No Tide’s song a miss on this split.
Knockout Kid provides the song to beat on the split. "Safety Net On Fire" starts perfectly with a filtered effect covering the entire opening riff that opens up into the big fist-pumping pop punk Knockout Kid is known for. Each member is at their best on the song, showcasing expertly their abilities as musicians and songwriters. Every section of the song seems well thought-out and designed, but the truly great parts of the song are the small extra bits that make the song take the step from good to great. Subtle but effective things such as the extra beat in the intro before going into the riff, the “aaahs” in the outro, and the drumfills towards the end of the song are what makes hitting the repeat button worthwhile.
By this time, we’ve heard three songs with fast, snare-driven verses and catchy choruses and are expecting another. Fourth And Goal don’t let us down with their song "Chutes And Ladders". Compared to the other songs on this split, the production is slightly rawer and not quite as polished. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but because all the other songs were more polished and full-sounding, "Chutes And Ladders" stands out for the wrong reason. There’s a dance chorus reminiscent of old Fall Out Boy and a powerful bridge hidden within the span of this song along with some pretty solid musicianship, but overall, there’s nothing that convinces the listener one way or the other that Fourth And Goal is a band worth devoting an album’s worth of listening to.
Overall, this 4-way split is definitely something to check out. Traditions proves they’re a band to watch over the coming year and No Tide shows once again they have great promise and the ability to improve. Knockout Kid proves once again why they are already making an impact on the pop punk world and Fourth And Goal show they are on the cusp of making some real impacts with their music. Hopefully more new music is in the works for all of these bands.
Tracklist:
1. Traditions - "Wax & Wane"
2. No Tide - "Mind's Eye View"
3. Knockout Kid - "Safety Net On Fire"
4. Fourth And Goal - "Chutes & Ladders"
RIYL: The Swellers, The Starting Line, New Found Glory
Rating:
More reviews by Josh Jurss
Knockout Kid
Traditions
No Tide
Fourth And Goal
