I’m a big fan of mid 90s skate punk – the kind of No Use/Bigwig Fat Wreck sound which had the melodies of todays pop-punk bands yet still had drum patterns like a battering ram and hard and fast guitar riffs peeled off with vigour. Coventry’s Wasted Daze are very much influenced by that EpiFat era, but lack a certain bite to really make any kind of standout impact. There are two points where this record falls down. The first is the quality of the recording – yes I know it’s a DIY EP, but the quality suffers because it sounds so tinny. Wasted Daze would sound so much better with more time spent ensuring all the parts are equal in the mix.
The other faux pas is the vocals – at times they’re barely audible, but when they are they tend to be indistinct and muffled. There’s a lack of passion – I’m a great believer in singing like you mean it, and I’m not convinced Krissy is a believer in his own vocal talents. There are too many ‘woahs’ and ‘ooohs’ – or maybe that’s just the bad production job again. That said, the guitar work is very solid throughout and the drums are varied and hard-hitting. ‘Jenna-Cide’ is also a bit of a tune, although it does take a little too long to get going. This is actually a trait the band have throughout, with all four efforts seemingly taking forever to get started. By all means, have a long guitar intro in one song, but in all four it drags things out a bit too much. Wasted Daze aren’t bad by any means, but they could be so much better.
www.myspace.com/wasteddaze
Paul