Oklahoma Car Crash

I Know Better Now EP

Written by: MN on 31/05/2014 13:05:35

Oklahoma Car Crash is one of those bands I impulsively picked through a list of promos in hopes of being surprised. Having my teenage years bouncing back and forth from pop-punk to metal, I always get a very nostalgic feeling when I listen to bands like Blink 182, Mest, Sugarcult and Bowling For Soup. In hopes of taking a trip down memory lane, Oklahoma Car Crash seems to be the right way, a pop punk expression with a more acoustic mindset along the lines of Frank Turner. Having no prior knowledge of OCC, I decided to listen to the now two year old record "The Good War" to get a taste of what this solo- pop/folk punk project is all about. Songs like "God Can't Save Us" and "I Can See My Breath", along with "Calm The Seas" are all ear-clinging songs with raw emotion, honesty and a great crispy acoustic sound to it. This year Nat Brown, the man behind the project, released "I Know Better Now", an EP with both positive sides and some slightly dissapointing sides.

Opening the EP is "Bad For Anyone" that definitely leans more towards the poppy edge rather than the folk. Melodically it is pretty straightforwards, steady punk riffs and mid tempo. A rather boring track in all honesty. "Blue Eyes, Blue Water" brings back my attention as a faster track with more harmonic vocal layers and more inspiring metaphorical lyrics relating to water. One of the better tracks of the EP is "I'm Happier Today" which builds up a song best described as having a rocknroll attitude and a great climatic build up. "Mountainside" is the highlight of this record, a song that reminisces Death Cab For Cutie-like ballads. Nat Brown is best singing with an acoustic guitar in his hand, it is simple but sincere and has much greater impact.

This was a decent listen, but in comparison to OCC's earlier work, it shoots below the bar. Apart from "Mountainside", the EP weighs a little thin and contains one too many filler tracks. It must however be noted that I definitely prefer the more folk punksy OCC rather than the simple pop punk expression that is clearly more emphasized on "I Know Better Now".

6

Download: Mountainside, Blue Eyes, Blue Water, I'm Happier Today
For The Fans Of: Frank Turner, Andrew Jackson Jihad, Mixtapes
Listen: facebook.com

Release date 14.05.2014
Say-10 records

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