Above Them

Keep Smiling (2010)

Brian Shultz

The latest in a long line of EPs from UK punks Above Them is a two-song single featuring title track "Keep Smiling" (from the band's 2009 full-length, Blueprint for a Better Time), and a newer song for the B side, "Scared" acoustic.

"Keep Smiling" is about as poppy as gruff-voiced melodic punk can probably get--even sort of creeping vaguely into alt-nation territory. It's definitely not bad, though there's a slower part that seems to come in before the hook can really stick too firmly. The recording is a little fuzzily weird too, but there's a moderate bust of dynamism toward the end. Based off this song, a band like A Death in the Family seems to do this sound with a little more ambition and grace, but still, it's not bad. "Scared" is a little more tender and grandiose, in fact, but the multiple acoustic layers give it a pretty captivating atmosphere.

Definitely a fairly decent taste.

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Keep Smiling