A few months ago, I stumbled across one of my favourite split EPs of 2012; the Batten Down the Hatches and Random Holiday split was, in my opinion, nearly flawless. It featured a few incredible tracks by each band, and while I did give it a perfect score, there was some room for improvement. The perfect score was based more on each band’s somewhat short career and the fact that they both surprised me immensely. Now, just a few months later, Random Holiday is set to release their debut full-length album, Space to Grow, on April 16.
Space to Grow starts off with a few very solid tracks. “Lee,” the second track, is one of my favourites because of the excellent lyrics and riffs heard throughout. Next up is “If I’m Lucky I’ll Forget Your Name,” which features several drum rolls that spice things up and some notable vocal melodies in its chorus. A few tracks later, we come to “Walk Before You Run.” “Walk Before You Run” is an acoustic track that clocks in at five minutes, which may seem like a very long time, but it’s incredible and doesn’t cause the listener to drift away or lose attention. Also, “Walk Before You Run” reminds me of Citizen and Defeater’s acoustic material.
It only gets better after the acoustic track. With songs like “Where I Belong,” “Hibernation,” and “Heart Grows Colder,” the second half of the album is a bit stronger than the first. The fast-paced verses heard on “Where I Belong” and “Heart Grows Colder,” and the slow but powerful and emotional “Hibernation” alone make this album a worthwhile purchase. The aforementioned tracks are also a few of my personal favourites. They always make me want to come back for another listen, and “Heart Grows Colder” closes out the album perfectly.
Every aspect of Space to Grow is extremely solid and a step up from the split with Batten Down the Hatches. There isn’t a single song that is weak, but as I said before, the second half of the album stands out as superior. If you liked Random Holiday’s split with Batten Down the Hatches, you should like Space to Grow even more because they didn’t change their sound very much, but they did polish it.
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For Fans Of: Be Easy, Turnover, Forever Came Calling
