Both Pierre and Molly’s Worst Enemy hail from the state of Minnesota. Both have similar styles, mixing harsh vocals with driving drumbeats and some of the best guitar work you’ll find from local bands. Both are young, promising punk bands making their way in their scene. It only makes sense that these two bands would combine forces for a split EP.
The split, which will be released on 10” vinyl, starts with a pair of superb songs from Pierre: "Penmanship" and "Purgatory". The intro to “Penmanship” contains some slightly dull guitar and a nearly overpowering kick drum, but as soon as the vocals come in with the first lines, none of it matters. Somehow, the song is extremely catchy while still only containing a simple and relatively basic melody. The vocals scream while staying melodic and comprehensible. As soon as the first major snare fill comes in, combined with the into the second verse, the heavy hitting guitars, and the emotion fueled vocals, it rekindles and reminds you of your love for old school punk records long neglected in your collection. Some added half time and increasingly retarding tempo add much more to the song closing it nicely and setting you up for the next tune, “Purgatory".
All the right chord choices were made in “Purgatory” as it’s a beautifully-crafted song with a killer bassline that reverberates your body at the beginning of the song until you get to the nearly terrifying sounding chorus of “I don’t much feel like sharing today". With a carefully crafted drum fill, you’re flung back into the midst of the triple metered song. Add in a truly great guitar solo that can only be described as pure rock and roll, you’re propelled into the final chorus that defines what Pierre is about: emotional, passionate punk rock.
Molly’s Worst Enemy is up next with their song “Don’t Save Me”, which, if you’ve ever heard Molly’s Worst Enemy, contains all the standard elements you’ll find in all of their records. This song in particular contains some of the best guitar work you’ll find around mixing distorted and clean guitars effortlessly as well as having several guitar riffs that fluidly flow between another as if they were part of a puzzle perfectly placed together. This is prevalent most throughout a relatively short and beautifully crafted instrumental section that leads to some of the harshest Molly’s Worst Enemy vocals on any of their records. Everything else about the song is spot on. The drums drive the song propelling it forward while tossing in some lovely original beats. As it should, the bass holds down the song, only truly going off on it’s own during the instrumental section with a riff. The lyrics themselves are compelling. With lines such as “Oh, I’m not good enough for you, but that’s all I want to be", and “At least she loves me when she’s drunk. At least there’s someone who cares about me", you get mixed feelings of optimism and pessimistic depression. However, it’s still easily relatable.
Bringing up the last portion of the 4-song EP is Molly’s last tune called “A Long Way Of Saying Sorry". I support the change in vocalist for this song, as the traditional harsh vocals would’ve been far out of the style for a song that’s far calmer in tone than the songs previous to it. The song builds to an abrupt change of feeling about halfway through. The guitars shift to a driving steady rhythm, we go back to the harsh vocals we’re used to hearing from the band, and the drums explode with a wealth of cymbals and some well placed snare hits. “A Long Way Of Saying Sorry” ends with a chaotic mix of vocals and high energy, but overall, this song isn’t nearly as compelling and interesting as the other Molly’s Worst Enemy song on this EP.
It’s highly recommended you do yourself a favor and pick up your copy of this EP upon it’s release. If you can’t wait, a couple of the songs have already made themselves known online. Both Pierre and Molly’s Worst Enemy prove through this release why they’re creating some of the best punk music in Minnesota right now.
Tracklist:
Pierre
1. Penmanship
2. Purgatory
Molly's Worst Enemy
3. Don't Save Me
4. A Long Way Of Saying Sorry
RIYL: The Story So Far, Crucial Dudes, Gnarwolves, Neck Deep
Rating:
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Pierre
