Review Summary: This is the band of that guy who sings on “Love Let Me Go”. Oh yeah, and they’re actually really good.
Do you remember hearing More Than Life’s
Love Let Me Go for the first time, and being blown away by the epic guest vocals on the title track? Well, they were done by Andrew Fisher, the lead vocalist of a pop-punk/emo/hardcore/whatever band from the UK, called Basement. The band has been playing together for just over a year, and they have already made a name for themselves, often being compared to their friends in Title Fight. However, Basement tends to have a darker sound, steering clear of the trite sing-along aspect of pop-punk. That being said, they still manage to pack catchiness and energy into their music, while avoiding the gimmicks that often plague the genre.
Songs About the Weather starts with an emo-influenced intro, then bursts into what appears to be one of the slower tracks,
Skip Town. The vocals come in after a brief into, and Fisher belts out,
“This town is so cold; even summer is not enough to make me feel like home”. Typicality aside, the vocals are gripping and unrefined, and may take some getting used to, but the consistent emotion is what makes this EP so special. After a tempo increase, Basement exhibits their pop-punk side, and then closes the first track with the repeated line, “I’ll live but I won’t die here.” Are they reinventing the wheel? Not exactly, but for every dull moment that is on this EP, (there aren’t many), there are several impressive ones to make up for it.
DUI, the third real track on the album, opens with a very catchy and tasteful guitar lead, and also continues on to feature clean vocals that alternate with Fisher’s screams - much like that of the Jamie/Ned vocal combo in Title Fight. The next track,
Meet Me in St. Louis, is the highlight of the EP that begins like any upbeat pop-punk song would, but then slows to a tremendous buildup about halfway through. The band slowly chugs for twenty seconds, then unleashes tension after a brief pause, as Fisher yells
"Don’t say goodnight!" which is followed by a melodic guitar solo as the song comes to a close.
Songs About the Weather ends on
White Elephant, another infectiously catchy track that sums up the 12 minute long EP very well. It is relatively hard to come across a band as young Basement that has such obvious passion in their music. The hopeful, yet despairing mood set by the EP as a whole, is an accomplishment in itself. If they can manage to stray from the EP’s more typical moments on their next release, Basement will be well on their way to the top of the scene.
