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Everything We Left Behind

Our Ears Are Bleeding

Written by: PP on 14/12/2011 01:00:47

Everything We Left Behind (EWLB henceforth) is a punk rock four piece from the UK whose self-proclaimed mission is to "fight for survival against the money-fueled, over-produced bands of today". It's a little bit awkward statement considering their debut album "Our Ears Are Bleeding" is a rather well produced effort that leaves all instruments sounding crisp and clear in the mix, but perhaps the band were rather directing their criticism towards pop punk bands in general.

That's what it sounds like anyway. "Our Ears Are Bleeding" consists of high-octane melodic punk with strongly audible bass guitar that pays homage to Captain Everything, a criminally underrated but seminal UK punk rock band who carry the reputation of being the fastest band on the planet. EWLB aren't quite as fast, but they sure do like the pedal glued to the floor, while they reference mid 90s NOFX riffs and scratchy, smoky vocals akin to Strung Out in the process. The resulting mix is a fast-paced, technical brand of punk rock that remembers to stay infectiously catchy, as "Generica" and especially "A Place Called Nowhere" show, but not at the cost of a raw, energetic feeling.

It's nothing particularly original, as the band itself suggests on "It's Not Plagiarism, It's Just Similar", but that doesn't matter when the songwriting is top-notch and the songs hit the proverbial genre nail spot on one after the other. Sometimes the band treads into hasty pop punk tracks ("The Not Winner" could almost be on "Cheshire Cat" by Blink 182 minus the vocals), which are good, but their best work is definitely in the Strung Out meets NOFX meets incredibly fast stuff like Captain Everything-type of melodic punk rock. You'll have heard this record before in various forms, but it's nonetheless a surprisingly strong debut effort that should open a lot of doors for EWLB in the future.

Download: Generica, A Placed Called Nowhere, Don't Be Hasty
For the fans of: Strung Out, NOFX, Captain Everything
Listen: Bandcamp

Release date 03.10.2011
Self-Released