Off the top of my head, I can only think of three “big” modern pop punk bands that hail from the UK. I’m not saying that there aren’t any more UK pop punk bands, but there are three that come to mind: Me Vs Hero, Neck Deep, and Save Your Breath. The latter is the band that this review is on. Save Your Breath recently released an EP entitled Recover. Recover is about 19 minutes long and it sees the band keep the same style that was heard on their full-length album, Vices, but it’s a much tighter sound overall. The EP starts off strong with the title track, “Recover”. The vocals are catchy and the chords combined with the riffs and leads are fairly similar to most pop punk bands’, but a notch above. The up-tempo pace and catchiness continues with the second track, “Maps”. The guitar leads are particularly strong on “Maps”, but my favourite part is near the end of the track where there’s a little bridge that builds up to an epic ending chorus.
Next up is “Skeleton Key”. While it’s not the strongest track on Recover, it’s still fairly catchy and the riffs and drumming are great. The thing that drags “Skeleton Key” down is the chorus. Yes, it’s catchy, but it sounds very familiar; like it was taken from Vices. The next track, however, is much stronger. “2004” turns things around with its fast-paced verses and catchy and I Call Fives-esque chorus. Also, the interlude of “2004” is excellent and it sets up the last minute of the track very well.
The second last track, “Ceremony”, is definitely the weakest track on Recover. It starts with a great mix of soft vocals and calmly picked notes, but it drags on for much too long. “Ceremony” is more than three minutes long, but it sounds like the same 30 seconds repeated over and over. Also, it sounds like Save Your Breath was trying too hard to be Brand New. Thankfully, the EP comes to a close with a much stronger track (and my personal favourite), the previously released “Touchpaper”. The chorus of “Touchpaper” is incredible, but that’s not even the best part of the song. That title belongs to the verse that gets me so pumped up every time I hear it.
If it wasn’t for the lackluster interlude titled “Ceremony”, Recover would have received a slightly higher score from me. The remaining five tracks are outstanding, and for the most part, the band’s best material to date.
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