‘Back To the middle’ is the hugely enjoyable the debut release from And We Danced. The Minnesota based quartet, featuring members of The Jealous Sound and Gratitude amongst others, play family friendly pop-rock that’s covered in great vocal melodies. It’s not the most original material we’ve heard this year but that certainly hasn’t stopped us going back for a fourth and fifth listen yet.
The seven-track release opens with an awesome two minute instrumental. It’s layered approach and driving bass line is rooted in emo-rock and you can hear influences such as The Get Up Kids and Jimmy Eat World sprinkled all across this EP. However it’s tracks such as ‘The Ring’ and ‘Goodnight Toronto’ that really show you what And We Danced are all about. They’ve got a solid pop melody, a rise into the chorus and a really strong and memorable bridge. Vocally the band do still borrow from Matt Pryor, or even Matt Willis at times if we’re honest, but that works well.
The title track, ‘Back To The Middle’, and ‘Family Man’ are both verging on ballads from there. They’re enjoyable enough but they can lack a touch of pace and perhaps the release would’ve benefited from stepping it up a notch here. The same could be leveled at ‘Little Streetlight’ until it hits a really huge chorus and this builds to a second chorus with an even bigger impact.
The release ends with ‘She Makes Me, Breaks Me’ and it’s certainly the stand out moment. Its the soaring opening chorus, quicker verses, and ridiculously large bridge that makes this such a memorable finale. We’d go as far as saying that this track could easily take And We Danced to far bigger audiences if fans of bands such as All Time Low are exposed to it. We know that’s a double edged sword for some but it’s intended as a huge compliment here. This has the potential to be a break out track if it’s pushed to the right crowd.
‘Back To The Middle’ has moments of real quality and it’s a solid debut for And We Danced.
TOM BECK