Welsh 4 piece Manhattan Coast offer up their third EP following up ‘Never Tell Me The Odds’ & ‘Beg, Borrow, or Steal.’ Back in 2012 Punktastic called them out as a band who would thrive in arena sized gigs, and this EP cements the hope that they’ll reach that stage some day.
‘This One’s For You’ is a self-release by the band, and it’s pretty damn good. An EP of 5 songs revolving around love, lust, and fame, it’s laced with an abundance of woahs and clap along anthems which put them firmly in the pop punk members’ club, but also with enough darker thrashings to give them a bit of a transcending edge. The opening track ‘War on the Weekend’ eases the listener into the EP. It’s deceptive in that it’s more light-hearted and musically straight-forward than the other 4 songs and may make you think that there’s not much else to come.
Tracks such as ‘Monsoon Season in Machine City’ and ‘Dreams Are For the Dreamers’ show how impressive the band are as a unit, and how their individual talents seem to mesh perfectly together. Nick Lane’s vocals are archetypal pop punk, and when Adam Jones’ backing vocals kick in, the songs become a bit more grungy and the ideal soundtrack to kick up a circle pit. Title song ‘This One’s For you’ playfully describes going home with the protagonist if you “want your 15 minutes” of fame. However, the screaming in the breakdown juxtaposed with the playful bass in the verse shows off the band’s capacity to write and pull together mature and exciting songs that will surprise you when you least expect it.’Carpe Diem’ brings the EP to a stomping and furious finish. It’s got several different parts to it, from the harsh verses to the anthemic woahs, spinning into what seems like a fade out, but turning into another set of screaming riffs. Far and away the best track on the EP.
‘This One’s For You’ is a great EP with enough surprise and variation between the woahs and clap alongs to make it a stand out record. What’s more, it’s great to see that well produced and passionate pop-rock, rock-punk, or whatever you want to call it, is alive, well, and thriving. Manhattan Coast are touring the UK in February. It’ll be well worth a trip to see some of these songs played live in a tiny venue. Who knows where they could be this time next year.
JESS BRANDLER