Sometimes you just have to tip your hat off to a band, hold your hands up and admit it’s a fair cop. Last time round I hinted that Kill The Arcade had potential yet didn’t always show it, and while their EP hit some high notes, it all too often drifted around that ‘heard it all before’ generic emo sound. However, the two new tracks on this Tree Brain Records release suggest KTA are on to a winner – a harder sound, without the generic emo tone – and that could well help them in the long run.
This split isn’t just about one band, mind you, but more on Skys Day Off in a sec. This is a four track EP featuring two songs from each band, and it’s Reading’s Kill The Arcade that kick things off. The first thing to notice is how the songs sound more cohesive and ‘bigger’ in terms of production – there’s much more of a pro feel here, making ‘There’s No Such Thing As Healthy Competition’ an easy contender for the band’s best song yet. The vocals are less whiny and more forceful, a little early Armor For Sleep in some places too. It’s like the band listened to their last EP in depth and realised a lot of little mistakes and then ironed them out. And for that, you really have to say ‘fair play’.
Skys Day Off are a little weaker, although not bad by any means. With a slightly more obvious post-hardcore sound, they don’t quite hit hard enough or have catchy choruses like their counterparts. ‘Until My Eyes Awake’ is a decent track, as is ‘Cheap Lines For Cheap Girls‘, but I’m not wholly convinced this is a sound a trillion bands haven’t attempted before – and a good fair few have bettered. Still, there are plenty of far worse acts and SDO could do a lot worse than follow Kill The Arcade‘s exemplorary example.