EP REVIEW

CLOSE SECOND
"CLOSE SECOND"
(Independent)

1. DEFENSE
2.
THE PART THAT STAYS
3. BEAT THIS ONE
4.
WAIT FOREVER

CLOSE SECOND "Close Second" EP

Length:  14:20 (min:secs)
Released:  July 2003

www.closesecond.com
info@closesecond.com

 

[ BACK ]   [ MAIN ]

Close Second are a band from Brabant in The Netherlands, made up of ex-members from bands in and around the local hardcore community, including Born From Pain, Facing Down, Of No Avail, Razor Crusade and Reaching Forward.  However, they draw from wider influences and certainly are not a hardcore band.

Their style is a mix of pop-punk and emo with just a little indie thrown in for good measure.  They sound like a honed blend of Hundred Reasons and Foo Fighters but with quite a considerable amount of other bits and pieces sprinkled in there also. The dry melodic vocals - often sounding very similar to Colin Doran (Hundred Reasons) - match the driving melodies of the music and punch bouncy holes in your senses.

“Defense” is very much on the pop-punk side, it’s commercial and catchy. “The Part That Stays” takes you on a restrained emotional ride and “Beat This One” is incredibly Hundred Reasons and almost British sounding.  Finally, “Wait Forever” is a clever mix of the pop-punk and emo, delivered on a bed of indie and a fairly representative example of their sound.

While not producing anything remarkably new - especially to those who enjoy British emo or American pop-punk - there is a nice collection of quality songs to be found here. It’s mature but still juvenile, easy to enjoy and bleeds across several style of rock which should help with making the band far more accessible than if they were to play straight hardcore (like so many of the bands from Holland).  Well worth investigating.

12345678910 - Rigsby  (2nd January, 2003)
www.iwillbeheard.co.uk