When I envision pop punk, themes of depression, heartbreak and self-discovery cloud my mind. This genre is known for incorporating gloomy lyrics with conflicting energetic instrumentals, radiating feel-good vibrations around the room. As a listener, you let your guard down, you allow yourself to feel vulnerable, you sympathise with the artist and you, too, feel a sense of empowerment when they finally recognise their worth.
Break Out Day are bound to cause quite the pandemonium amongst alternative fans when Echoes of the Past is released on March 30th. The Long Island boys are not shy when emphasising how it feels to experience the effects of a break-up when you’re head over heels for someone who has been unfaithful to you.
The quartet waste no time jumping into the deep end with “The Party’s Over”, it’s easy to follow along with lyrically and it’s cliché but it’s very run-of-the-mill in terms of where it stands alongside other pop punk songs. The track isn’t something that hasn’t been heard before but that doesn’t stop it from being fun to rock out to. Parties are supposed to be enjoyable but the vocalist makes it known that his world has been torn apart through the use of monotone.
Naturally, you would expect a song with the lyrics “I’m taking your pictures down from my desk” and “I loved you but you couldn’t resist” to gradually develop a more angsty type of beat as it progresses but “Deleted Imagery” maintains a calm and pleasant sound to it. At this point, he has accepted that although “life wasn’t so bad”, he is making it a conscious effort to move forward.
“One More Night” begins with a slower opening but the rhythm fluctuates as the vocals develop throughout. It’s well-written and fits the alternative mould. Its catchy bridge leaves you on edge and when lyrics are repeated, a vibe surrounds the air where you have the sudden urge to sing along with him.
Closer “Too Bad You’re Lying (acoustic)” which featured on their 2013 EP The Nights That Made It is the track I like best. It’s slow, acoustic and I sense old school Blink-182 vibes – only me? The vocals are very soft sounding and the lyric “So many times I’ve tried just to be there for you. If I told you now, what good would it do?” reiterates the fact that fancy instrumentals are not needed in this song to prove a point, his emotions have plunged from one extreme to another and I’m here for it.
Echoes of the Past sounds different to the likes of Real Friends or ROAM but it is a very well-constructed EP, representing a hard-hitting change in someone’s life and Break Out Day sport their own twist when doing so.
Echoes of the Past is out on March 30th
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