Mixtapes

How To Throw A Successful Party

Written by: PP on 15/11/2012 22:22:17

"How To Throw A Successful Party" was originally released as an accompanying bonus disc to those who pre-ordered Mixtapes' "Maps & Companions", but it got such a positive reaction that the band decided to release it separately for those who didn't get the pre-order. It shows a quieter and softer side to the band than the full-length, returning to the gentle acoustic guitar strumming that they have toyed around with in the past. Admittedly, it is occasionally supported by the electric guitar, but that's been pushed to a backing role here to make room for their signature male/female alternating vocal combo that has made them the darlings of the scene during the last couple of years.

The song titles describe a chronological day through their titles ("10 A.M. How To Successfully Start The Day", "Noon Protest Song", "2 P.M. How To End Something Good" etc), but the content in itself is a lot more loosely connected. The songs are short, with nine tracks spanning just fifteen minutes, but not necessarily fast. They are essentially ballads where the male/female vocal dynamic has some extra focus as a consequence. The whiny and nasal style on their pop punk songs often draws attention towards New Found Glory who pioneered that style, but here Mixtapes sound exactly like Mixtapes. Soft, self-conscious, and a little bit fragile. Perhaps too fragile for my liking. The point has clearly been to write a few campfire-friendly songs which lean more on singer/songwriter than they do on pop punk, which is successful to an extent, but let's not kid ourselves here: their best songs have always been the fast and raw pop punkers with honest, quirky lyrics overall.

Those are in the minority here, so this is really more of a collector's item for those Mixtapes fans who just want to own everything (considering their ridiculous release tempo, that's an effort in itself). It's a shy, laid-back acoustic release that offers more of the same from Mixtapes, but little to lure in new fans this time around.

Download: Noon (Protest Song), 10 P.M. (safe)
For the fans of: Lemuria, Candy Hearts, The Wonder Years' acoustic songs
Listen: Facebook

Release date 30.10.2012
Animal Style Records

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