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For The Life Of Me

Closure EP

Written by: TL on 15/06/2013 11:34:25

Calling your record "Closure" is already pretty 'mo (remember the "Road To Closure vol. 9" mix from "Nick & Norah's Infinite Mixtape"?) but then "emo" is right there in the list of tags the New Jersey quartet For The Life Of Me have put on their bandcamp page, and considering how many great bands in the genre came from near the same area these guys did, I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise that here's another one that actually embraces the much misunderstood genre.

Really though, For The Life Of Me sound as much a punk rock band as they sound an emo band, laying the foundations of the four songs on this early EP of theirs with the kind of buzzing chords and raw vocals that should instantly remind listeners of similar acts like Make Do And Mend or Captives. Calmer, Seahaven-ish cleans are added on occasion for variety, and everything is wound up with varying degrees of sentimentality and nostalgia that reminds me of Daytrader, while classic elements from various corners of emo's reach - such as post-rock tremolo, mathy, noodling scales and crashing Texas Is The Reason-ish riffs - also make appearances here and there.

It's a sort of symphony of respectable influences then, and hence it's no wonder that the resulting mixture is pretty damn enjoyable itself. Admittedly, the songwriting hasn't quite produced too many unavoidable highlights yet, which means the EP passes by a bit quickly if you're not paying attention, but the cries of "I don't want the American dream!" that climax the build of "TV In My Head, Part II" are for their part hard not to recognise, and you're like to sing along to them spontaneously when they come in, after just a few listens.

Overall "Closure EP" is a quick listen and one that leads to a quick verdict of For The Life Of Me, as a band that has cool references a plenty and promising things going for their sound. They just have to maybe structure things a tiny bit better, and highlight their own personal touch a little bit more, and then I'm likely to end up quite happy that I started keeping an eye on them already on "Closure".

Download: TV In My Head, Part II; Eleven
For The Fans Of: Make Do And Mend, Captives, Daytrader, Seahaven
Listen: facebook.com/forthelifeofmepdx

Release Date 26.03.2013
Self-released