Not Tonight Josephine has something good. The band has concocted the perfect blend of hardcore, metalcore, and pop-punk on their eponymous EP and seem ready for what’s to come. The band is heavy enough for lover of bands like Stick To Your Guns and The Ghost Inside, but the band fits into other genres with bands like A Day To Remember and Pierce The Veil. Not Tonight Josephine’s sound is heavy yet relentlessly beautiful; finding a way to be fresh in genres overflowing with repetition.

The band’s sound relies heavily on their gritty and sometimes spacy guitars that are perfectly blended with not only their rhythm section but vocals as well. What I’m trying to say is that Not Tonight Josephine is tight. Unlike other bands in their genre, the band doesn’t sound mechanical on record. The EP showcases the live and raw feel of Not Tonight Josephine’s sound.

There’s no doubt that Not Tonight Josephine will have you banging your head. Songs like “Nothing To Show” almost reinvent metalcore. The band definitely adds an element of early 2000s hardcore that is as stimulating as it is exciting. Underoath is a band that comes to mind, but the band meshes that influence to craft the sound of Not Tonight Josephine.

“Don’t Hold Your Tongue” is a major halt for the band and shows the lighter side of the band’s heavy/pop blend. The song isn’t groundbreaking, but showcases just what they are capable of when slowing down the EP. At the perfect moment, the song acts as a nice interlude to the final and heaviest song, “Barefaced.”

Not Tonight Josephine’s refreshing blend of metalcore and pop punk is impressive and is a battle cry for originality in a world of where following the mold is king.