Like Pacific make an energetic start to their self-titled EP, but given its sub one minute and a half length, opening track ‘Sigh Of Relief’ does little more than offer glimpses of what might be to come from the Canadian pop-punks. It seems like overly familiar riffs, albeit ones accompanied by solid vocals, will be the order of the day and the second track, ‘Eviction’, certainly reinforces that belief. A vaguely interesting intro quickly gives way to a standard pop-punk progression through the verses and choruses with very little to grab your attention.
Aside from the lack of personality, the biggest problem facing Like Pacific is the almost complete absence of any originality across the five songs on offer. ‘Clarity’ is the sound of a band going through the motions with only the brief vocal harmony towards the end providing any shred of interest. Some of the jumble of influences on show are typical of the genre whilst others are more identifiable with particular bands.
‘04 105 McCaul Street’ for example, shamelessly rips off early Saves The Day during the verses, but without the clever lyricism of Chris Conley. In fact, the second biggest issue for Like Pacific after the music is the the lyrics, which are nothing short of generic. They’re at their most cringe-worthy on the aptly titled ‘Suffering’, which features the teen diary calibre line “I feel the weight of the world come crashing down”.
To top it off, Like Pacific have somehow managed to make an EP that doesn’t even hit the fifteen minute mark outstay its welcome with a collection of songs so banal that most other bands would dismiss them as filler. Most tellingly, the EP moves between different styles of the genre without being a good example of any of them. There are many pop-punk bands who don’t attempt to reinvent the genre but still manage to carve out a niche for themselves and develop a dedicated fanbase along the way, but on this evidence it’s difficult to imagine Like Pacific doing the same.
CHRIS HILSON