Long Island never fails to impress musically, spawning Bayside, TBS, Brand New, and now The New Rivals. With their debut EP, TNR give a taste of the catchy yet crunchy punk they plan to offer in the future. The opening track, Hell is for Heroes, is arguably the strongest, keeping a speedy yet rather simplistic structure throughout; despite this, the song is very accessible and never seems to get old. Mudslinging and Heels to the Ceiling are more technical tracks, both featuring good guitar/bass "interlay." Hold My Head is rather boring, and lacks teh same flair that the opener used to keep one immersed in the song. Drums are weak on the entire album, as well as the lyrics and bass at points, and some of the audio effects can become annoying. Still, the EP is a fairly good gauge for what is to come, and the first two tracks aren't half bad to listen to either.
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