It’s immediately obvious from the opening track of New York punk-rockers Gameday Regulars and Birmingham’s (UK) Guerrilla Monsoon that you’ve entered a world of unfaltering melodic punk. In essence, these 11ish minutes are the epitome of pop-punk – fast paced drums and gritty vocals up against insatiably catchy melodies and upbeat rhythms – yet “pop-punk” doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface.
Instead both bands take a page out of books by the likes of Off With Their Heads, offering the quality in melody without touching any of the clichés associated with the commercially lucrative (who would have thought?) pop-punk world. ‘December’, easily the best of the two Guerrilla Monsoon tracks if not the best on the EP, is brilliantly close to summery pop with its fundamental surf vibes and off-kilter vocals and still manages to pack a punch.
Clearly keen to demonstrate their versatility, the second Guerrilla Monsoon track sees them alter their style. By choosing to follow a more typical punk direction, but retaining the quality of their immediately catchy opener, ‘Rome’ perhaps sits more comfortably next to the grittier punk of Gameday Regulars, who on ‘The Punisher’ play out like an amped up Gaslight Anthem complete with the Americana twists but with plenty more force.
With its weathered growls, EP closer ‘Banks’ sits at the opposite end of the spectrum to ‘December’ in tone, but rivals it for sheer brilliance. Similar to the aforementioned contemporaries Off With Their Heads the downtrodden lyrics are hidden under high-tempo music, clearly ready to be shouted back at the band in a live setting.
Even with only four tracks to play with, this split EP is more than enough to get you seriously excited about Guerrilla Monsoon and Gameday Regulars. Bookended by two of the best tracks to be released in months, and with the remaining two tracks not fairing so badly themselves, this is a record not to be missed.
BEN TIPPLE