Modern Day Escape

Under The Gun

Written by: PP on 19/07/2012 06:25:10

If you're wondering what the kids are betting their weekly allowance on to become the next breakthrough band in 2012, you should check out Modern Day Escape. They're an emo/post-hardcore band from Los Angeles that features ex-Black Veil Brides drummer Sandra Alva. With close to 200,000 fans on Facebook, their essentially stolen/cloned approach to the genre stems from the early to mid 00s bands, most notably from The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and their excellent debut album "Don't You Fake It". "Under The Gun", their debut album, basically sounds identical to that record, both in terms of melody lines, the clean/screamo combo, and of course the singing which I think at this point is nearly indistinguishable from TRJA's Ronnie Winter. Hints of Hawthorne Heights at their most corny and Silverstein's dynamic emocore melodies are also present in good dosages, as are voyages towards Chevelle inspired alternative rock, too, such as on "Voiceless" which could've been on one of their recent records.

The good news is that "Under The Gun" is a good album. Though you've heard these chorus melodies before, there's no denying that they are infectious like the plague, and when coupled with sparsely used, well-timed screaming to add contrast, well, I'm tempted to argue that it's difficult to do the 'classic' emo/post-hardcore sound better in 2012 than what Modern Day Escape are doing here. The beauty is that it both feels and sounds entirely accessible - probably why leagues of teenagers are seeking out this band left and right - but also maintains a ragged edge to it, a roughened, unpolished vibe that ensures the band aren't entirely boring and predictable song in song out.

The bad news is that it sounds terribly derivative and kind of dated. After all, looking at my score on the original The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus album from six years ago makes me second guess myself, because listening to the record today it sounds terribly generic and, like this record, completely dated. But I have a feeling that's got more to do with how saturated the genre has become in those six years than with the quality of the song originally, precisely because of bands like Modern Day Escape who keep recycling the same sound over and over again. That said, you have to give credit where credit is due: Modern Day Escape have written an enjoyable emo/post-hardcore record that's a textbook example of how the genre can sound like when played right.

7

Download: City of Thieves, Don't Hold It Against Me,
For the fans of: The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Hawthorne Heights, Silverstein, A Heartwell Ending
Listen: Facebook

Release date 26.03.2012
Standby Records

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