From Apex, North Carolina, Arms Length Away plays a style of pop punk that is a little similar to what some may call ‘easycore’. To give you a bit more of an idea, if you took the vocals of Me Vs Hero and mixed it with the instrumental aspects of (old) Worthwhile and I Call Fives, you would have something very similar to what Arms Length Away has created on their EP entitled Because You’re The One I’ll Carry With Me.The EP starts off with a very strong track, “Because”. The first riff of the EP gave me hopes for Arms Length Away being an upbeat poppy hardcore band, but I quickly found out that you only get that feel on a few tracks momentarily. While I was a little disappointed that I made an inaccurate assumption at first, I soon began to appreciate how spectacular the EP is. “Because” is only the tip of the iceberg, so don’t stop listening there!The next track, “Home”, is one of the strongest tracks instrumentally. Both “Home” and the fourth track entitled “Anxious” have a few really good guitar leads in each chorus and the bass is extremely noticeable. The bass lines on the entire EP are incredible. “Anxious” also features one of my favourite lyrics, “I know it’s hard to form your lips like shapes and sounds that you just don’t believe in”.It’s not all smooth sailing, though. The fifth track, “Interlude”, is kind of pointless. It’s only about a minute and a half long but it’s a pretty weak instrumental track. It sounds decent but there isn’t much going on and it temporarily ruins the flow of the EP. Thankfully, the EP picks up where it left off before “Interlude” and closes with three of my favourite tracks in “New Years Resolution” (acoustic), “Compass”, and “You’re The One I’ll Carry With Me”.
Everything about Because You’re The One I’ll Carry With Me is extremely good except for the instrumental track. If I had to pick a favourite part about the EP, I would definitely say it’s the catchiness factor and the lyrics. Another awesome lyric from my personal favourite, “Compass”, is “I’ve been wandering, thinking aimlessly, praying on my knees ‘God, help me, please”/I got so lost in my own head”. As you can see, some of the lyrics are a little different compared to what pop punk bands usually sing about (girls, girls, girls).
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