DIRTY BREAK are a pop-punk/skate-punk four-piece from Bristol, and the eight songs on this debut EP take their influence from bands as diverse as The Lawrence Arms, Finch and Sum 41. Their strongest asset is undoubtedly their vocal harmonies, which run throughout all the tracks, bouncing from simple ‘oohs and ahhs’ on opening track ‘Amoeba To Monkey’, to octave harmonies on ‘Dead Set’ and ‘None Shall Pass’, fleshing out the melodic choruses and embellishing the verses.
Drummer Jesse possesses a style somewhere between NOFX‘s Erik Sandin and Finch‘s Alex Pappas, utilising a lightning fast kick drum smartly, never overpowering the songs but flourishing where needed.
On listening to the EP in one sitting, the songs do seem to bleed together a little, the majority being evenly-paced, competent pop-punk. Perhaps a little variation would go a long way. But as a first effort from a young band, Dirty Break have enough promise to get somewhere and garner a decent fanbase while they’re at it.
ROGER HOLLAND