New Bruises / Stolen Bikes Ride Faster

Split [7 inch] (2007)

Keenan

This split 7" starts off with Florida's New Bruises. Their debut full-length, Transmit! Transmit! had a couple really good songs peppered among a bunch of average songs, which is upsetting. They showed they had the talent to write exceptional songs, but couldn't quite get their handle on it. Since then, they have released a couple 7"s and whatnot, all of which have excellent material. It's good to find that they have found their niche and finally started to consistently write great songs, this 7" being no exception. Their first song, "Top Shelf Medicine" is a faster song, complete with guitar hooks that'll get stuck in your head. This song follows what seems to be their standard procedure in songwriting, which has been working swimmingly, for lack of a better word. The next song, however, has a slower pace to it. "Cheap Bus to Belfast" has a rather uneven chorus that becomes catchy the more you listen to it. I've listened to the song a countless amount of times and the song gets gradually better with every listen.

Stolen Bikes Ride Faster hails from Italy, as you can tell by their somewhat poor English ("it's too late for begging your help") and the funny way they say the word "ass." I'm not trying to make fun of them and the mistakes don't get in the way of the song at all. They sound like an Italian Lifetime, or Vita, if you will ( i don't know why i even included that). Their first song, "Shit the Brick," hits me like the brick they supposedly shit. This is by far the best song on the split so, kudos to them. The melody laced with crunching guitars is gratifying, to say the least. The next song, "Oh, Les Beaux Jours," has the same amount of melody and crunching guitars as the last. This is the first time I heard this band but it will not be the last. They are definitely a band to look out for.

Overall, this 7" is a very solid release, one of the best split 7"s I've heard all year, no exaggeration. This is definitely something everyone should pick up; it's a great way to introduce yourself to two somewhat newer bands.