KillScreen is a five-piece band from Beacon, NY that plays a style of pop punk that is similar to bands like Veara, With the Punches, and Carousel Kings. KillScreen has been around for about five years, but I had never heard of them until very recently. On their first EP, All in Your Head, they showed some promise, but the material was a bit rough and the production was mediocre at best. With that being said, they’re sure to turn some heads with their new EP entitled Non-Fiction, which comes out on March 30.
Non-Fiction gets off to an impressive start with “Loopers,” my personal favourite track on the EP. The vocals are particularly strong in this song, as the chorus and verses are incredibly catchy, and “Loopers” is excellent instrumentally too. Next up is “Scranton,” a fast song with more catchy vocals and the addition of some raspy punk vocals, as well as some solid drumming.
The next two tracks are a bit different. “Falconer St.” has a post-hardcore vibe to it because of the screams heard throughout the track and its more aggressive style, while “Letters” shows the band’s softer side with a much slower tempo, female guest vocals and calmer instruments. The final track on Non-Fiction is the title track. “Non-Fiction” sees the band return to the fast pop punk sound heard on the majority of this release.
Non-Fiction is an improvement on KillScreen’s first EP, but it’s still missing something. The production is excellent and the first few tracks were very well done, but the end of the EP wasn’t as interesting and caused me to lose focus. Despite that, this is definitely a release that I can see myself coming back to for at least a few more listens, and I’m anxious to hear what the band comes up with next.
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