(1) New Email: “I don’t know if it is your style or not, but give it a try.”
My instinctual response was “oh dear..” but I downloaded it anyway and ran out of the door as I was once again going to be late... Fast forward a few days and I find the EP whilst cleaning my download folder. Hitting play I am thinking I may need to admit to myself that I actually enjoy this sort of music more than I like to think I do...
Campaign’s Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! is punk. It doesn’t have punk “flavor”, it is punk. The heavy vocals, heavy guitar, and heavy drums might deter some, but it is very neatly pulled together to sound intricate and interesting.
My favorite song of the album is “Old Haunts” and I personally think it is a great way to open. The music sounds as if it could have coped on its own, without the vocals, it is very well played and varied. That being said, the vocals are really what top “Old Haunts” and the whole EP if fact. Catchy lyrics too-
“I tell myself the score is worth settling,
Til I almost believe the lies that I’m peddling”
“Old Thrills” reminds me of those people in bars who progressively get louder and louder and think they are cooler and cooler... That mental image is probably fueled by the chorus which is sung louder and rougher than the rest of the song, with lyrics that read,
“After last call, I'll drink with the fishes
I'll end this drink's life
You'll be the witness.”
“Old Blues” has the good, rough music that provides the canvas for the lyrics that take the picture from black and white to colored -
“Out of time, burned out too soon,
Born to lose, blacked out and blue”
“Old Mess” closes off the album. Some of the lyrics hit a personal soft spot of mine, making it even more enjoyable to listen to.
“So call me up when you are feeling low,
Because we both know
That you felt like a notch on my belt,
But you stayed anyway”
To be frank, after these four songs you are left wanting more. Overall an enjoyable EP by a band that knows how to pull it all together.
- Koala