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Final Round...FIGHT!

Ergonomics EP

Written by: PP on 29/11/2010 03:32:34

Time for another scene music roundup, the first one I'll be shoveling (yes, we have snow in Denmark) your way is a young British outfit called Final Round...FIGHT!, who have just released their sophomore EP "Ergonomics" that was recorded in a home studio earlier this year. They have a couple of really obvious strengths that have drawn me to the band, first and foremost their vocalist Callis whose thick scream resembles almost precisely that of UnderOATH's Spencer Chamberlain on their older recordings. Indeed, if "They're Only Chasing Safety" is your favorite UnderOATH album, there's lots on offer here that you'll like, alongside references to Oh, Sleeper and other similar bands.

Although it's impossible to escape constant UO references when listening to the music thanks to the screams, Final Round... make a conscious effort to distance themselves from being just a clone band. For starters, their brand of melodic screamo occasionally flirts with melodic hardcore and even punk rock riffs to add variation, "If The Idea Is To Stay Alive, I'm Driving" acting as a good example. As a result of the honest-sounding cleans contrasting the thick screams, you'll instantly think of Alexisonfire, et al sort of bands, and that's only a good thing. This is the sort of stuff that really sets the band apart from the UO clone tag, and which they should pursue intensively in the future. Now, this is a home recording like I mentioned, and for such a recording, I have to express remarkable admiration over how solid and voluminous the scream Callis is able to deliver really is. It's quite something. The slightly rough production also adds nice character to the strained clean backup vocals, and enable a nice buzzing sound to the sharp-edged guitars all around.

There's lots of good stuff on "Ergonomics EP", but it is a little too inconsistent yet to fight in the big leagues. There aren't any bad tracks on the record, but only one really great one (the one I already mentioned). That said, it's not difficult to enjoy all of the EP for the vocals alone, both the screams and the cleans are near the top of the league when it comes to melodic screamo. Check these guys out before they'll be much bigger.

Download: If The Idea Is To Stay Alive I'm Driving
For the fans of: UnderOATH, Oh Sleeper, Alexisonfire
Listen: Myspace

Release date August 2010
Self-Released