Costin Hall is post-hardcore/emo band from Nanaimo, British Columbia that could be described as a mix between Hot Water Music, Old Gray, and Title Fight. We Spent the Summer Running, their most recent two song release, is part melodic, part heavy, part catchy, and occasionally fast. Whatever you want to call it, it’s good and the production is tight.

The intro to “Spent, Replaced” sounds like something that Propaghandi might have written circa Today’s Empires, Tomorrows Ashes era. The track cycles back and forth between a few slower, rhythmic sections that are accompanied by some super nice guitar leads before transitioning into the outro. Over the next minute, the outro crescendos from a lone bass guitar to full band with the vocalist exclaiming at the top of his lungs “I know what’s missing/My fate in my hands”.

The first minute and a half of “Oceanside Fences” sounds like something that might have fit on Title Fight’s Floral Green or Basement’s I Wish I Could Stay Here – mid-tempo jams done well with some great instrumentation and dual/back and forth vocals. Then out of nowhere, the tempo doubles and the song transitions into d-beat drums, hardcore style vocals, and fast and heavy guitars. The new direction is sudden and unexpected, but Costin Hall pulls it off well that it really adds to the dynamic of the song.

The two songs on We Spent the Summer Running are quite different from each other and makes me wonder what a full length record from Costin Hall might sound like. Nevertheless, “Spent, Replaced” and “Oceanside Fences” are two thoughtfully crafted tracks that reflect and blend several different styles, while still producing a coherent sound. At less than seven minutes, We Spent the Summer Running is well written, well produced and well worthy of listen.