This has all the makings of another typical boring hardcore record. Pick slides right after one guitar cuts out in the first measure, buildups, and gang vocals...however, this record is everything but boring.

Sinking Ships gets a bad wrap sometimes for sounding too much like Champion. I hear that comparison, and would definitely say if you are a fan of Champion that you will LOVE Sinking Ships, but more than the Champion sound, I hear a heavy resemblance in the newer tracks here to Stay Gold, whose full-length, Pills and Advice, was one of the best records of 2002. This is likely due to the presence of ex-member(s) of said band in Sinking Ships.

With typical lyrics about the past, friendships, and broken promises, it is not the content of the lyrics but the delivery that really makes you listen and want to hear it. Every line feels like it is delivered from Danny's gut with more feeling than any frontman on MTV wearing girls pants with a girls haircut whining about how much he misses his girlfriend. With melodic guitar parts and melodies that are not typical these days in hardcore anymore the songs are catchy without being poppy. There is a drive in them that a lot of bands lack.

The last six tracks are taken from the band's demo, which is a bit less melodic and more straightforward than the newer songs, with the Champion comparison even easier to come by. These do what they do well, but even better are the newer offerings, which drive through with such force they drag you along whether you want to come or not.

Bottom line, this is a solid record that I would highly recommend.