Towards the end of the 21st century’s opening decade, a plethora of similar-sounding bands appeared. Not quite individual enough to achieve the same success as those who continue to adorn merchandise ten years later, these bands toured the same circuit of town halls, backrooms in bars and corn exchanges as everyone else on the scene. The Major Minor sound like one of those bands.
‘Nowhere Fast’ opens with building chords that grow into a sub drop. The guitars are solid throughout the EP but the vocals don’t match up in strength. This continues throughout the six songs; although there’s potential there, the delivery is missing something. It’s in keeping with the style of 2008 emo however, and not everyone is a singing superstar.
There are lyrics lacking in creativity, as during ‘Plans For Two’: “you’re the only one I wanna be with / tell me where to go and I will follow”. But their simplicity means they’re easy to remember and easy to remember lyrics are the ones that people singalong to. More of a punk sound appears in ‘Painful Transparencies’ and that’s when things get a little more interesting. Scratchy melodies, pounding drums and group vocals steer the sound in a more varied direction.
‘Old Ally’ is polished, and the instrumentation feels more layered, with more depth. By the time ‘Different Light’ arrives, an upbeat pop punk melody leads and The Major Minor seem to be settling into their stride. Surprisingly, the expected ballad never appears and ‘Maps’ is an anthem for positive thinking with vocals that soar.
The Major Minor aren’t breaking any boundaries with this EP fit for any Myspace kid’s MP3 collection, but if they can continue in the direction those last few songs are heading in, they could put their stamp on the scene.
KATHRYN BLACK