Poole “Punk Rockers” The Mistakes are back after another self-imposed hiatus with a new line-up and a new EP to boot. Once again I am entrusted with these 4 tracks to deliver a review. The Mistakes to me have never strayed far from the well-trodden path of playing straight-up Punk with no half measures. Yes there are influences but we will all have differing opinions. “Outside Heaven” opens proceedings with a “soft” bassy intro before the Punky drum accompaniment kicks in. The trademark Mistakes guitars swiftly follow while the vocals remind me of Anti Nowhere League in places. The vocal delivery is harsh, loud and angry with a real “3rd wave” Punk influence that doesn’t disappoint. There’s a great, clangy middle 8 and an equally impressive ending to the song-a great start!
“Running On Empty” once again opens with a really good guitar intro, which reminds me a little of Green Day. The lyrics might just be semi-autobiographical but are sung with passion. I feel the “singalong” chorus would work well in the live setting as this song has a real “live” feel for it. There’s more clangy guitar going on here and some great basslines, again reflected in the middle 8.
“Sick Of The Sun” has a wonderful bass intro to accompany Ross’s “in yer face” vocal. This has a real 80’s Punk sound with influences aplenty, (far too many to mention)! It’s almost the perfect Punk “single”, pitching in at a little shy of 3 minutes! The lyrics are sung at 100mph while the “chorus” is delivered with humour.
At a risk of repeating myself ‘Supernova’ begins with a clangy, Punky intro! The vocals are, as with its predecessor; angry! There’s some clever chord changes going on here but the ‘aah aah aah’s’ while not unpleasant, are a tad over-powering.
To sum up, The Mistakes always deliver high octane, no nonsense Punk. Yes; they are taking elements from the past, but who isn’t these days?! This EP demonstrates once again that they still have much to offer. A slightly “cleaner” production I feel might work in their favour. However, this may just be the sound they were hoping to achieve and so who am I to criticise. Four decent songs from the ever evolving Mistakes, long may that continue.
Tracklisting
Outside Heaven
Running On Empty
Sick Of The Sun
Supernova
Links
http://www.soundcloud.com/the-mistakes-uk
https://twitter.com/mistakepunk
Review by Ross A. Ferrone
