Review Summary: On this split, Indian Taker hints at making something greater while Shortcuts goes in writing something a little greater than your average pop-punk songs.
In terms of getting your name out there as a band, split EP’s are always a great way of doing it. It is a perfect way to get fans of other bands to listen to your music and turn them onto it. Indian Taker and Shortcuts are two small bands, each from California (Indian Taker) and England (Shortcuts) who share a love for making music. Both bands are very young in their careers and have yet to release a proper full length debut LP. On this split, both Indian Taker and Shortcuts deliver two tracks that are sure to quench your thirst for emo/hardcore/pop-punk.
Indian Taker is first up with their track
Growing Feigns that starts off very subtle, but slowly builds itself up until it explodes with a loud, guitar driven melody that propels the song forward with a substantial amount of energy, which then segues into vocalist Nick Diavante exceptionally delivering angsty lyrics while the whole band manages to work together and build the song up and have fun in the process. The song ends and after a brief interlude, Indian Taker show their ‘poppier’ side with the track
Foxholes. A very upbeat bassline opens the track and continues onto the song which is very strong overall. Guitarists Chris Avalos and Celso Carrasco have a great chemistry on this track and play off of each other very well, and it helps the track shine and solidify Indian Taker as more than your average band with a knack for catchy hooks and songwriting. It would be great to hear the vocalist and the bassist sing simultaneously. Interesting shifts in tempo and stellar songwriting on these two tracks make Indian Taker’s side of the split the stronger effort overall.
Shortcuts is next with their two tracks
Wonderland and
Bowling. The first thought that crossed my head while listening to Shortcuts is how similar sounding they are to
Basement‘s debut LP,
I Wish I Could Stay Here, which isn’t a bad thing at all.
Wonderland and
Bowling are very similar sounding, but aids in keeping the momentum that Indian Taker’s last song,
Foxholes, helped build. Short, and catchy are the way that Shortcuts decide to approach their music, and it’s not bad for two tracks. The use of quick, two minute straight-forward tracks is a strength for Shortcuts because they don’t need much time to grab you and inject their sound into your ear. However, keeping their song structure’s as is might prove to be difficult in the long run if they were to release an LP. Although it is just a split EP, I would like to hear a bit more creativity and experimentation in their songwriting if they were to release a full LP. Shortcuts delivers a slightly above average duo of songs that are sure to pique fans of pop-punk’s interest.
On this split, Indian Taker hints at making something greater while Shortcuts goes in writing something a little greater than your average pop-punk songs. Indian Taker’s take on post-hardcore/pop-punk is very interesting and ear grabbing. Both bands do a good job at delivering two songs that are sure to get you interested and ready for an LP. Very young, and very hungry, both Indian Taker and Shortcuts are sure to be contenders in the future if given enough exposure, which they deserve.
