Fan of The Movielife? Cry when they split up? Rejoice – the next best thing has arrived! While Set Your Goals don’t sound like a carbon copy of Vinnie Caruana’s crew, their pop-meets-hardcore take on things is as close to The Movielife as anyone has managed in the two-year period since the former Drive Thru band departed the Earth. Fusing melodies with a few minor hardcore influences, imagine Tom DeLonge fronting New Found Glory if they’d grown up on CIV or 7 Seconds and played it. After a successful EP release, Eulogy snapped SYG up and the music media raved about them – AltPress magazine claimed they’re one of the top bands you’ve not yet heard of…but ‘Mutiny!’ may well change all that.
One of the reasons for their inevitable success is their accessibility. Appealing to pop-punk fans and hardcore kids alike, they’re one of few bands that seem to be able to bridge the gap between the two genres. Having clearly been brought up on hardcore, they certainly show a few hard-edged influences, yet aren’t quite a hardcore band. But by the same token they’re too aggressive to be a pop-punk band, even though there are as many melodies as there are in a Blink or Fall Out Boy CD. With a dual vocal attack which works as well as Blink ever managed, Set Your Goals let rip from the first song to the last.
There are gang vocals, mini-breakdowns, parts where the band bring the mini-mosh and quite a few positive elements to their lyrics, while all the while drenched in singalong hooks and melodies. ‘To Be Continued…’ sounds like Tom DeLonge fronting a hardcore NFG, ‘Echoes’ bounces around with some brilliant vocal harmonies, while ‘We Do It For The Money, Obviously!’ is a real singalong anthem. Songs run into one another cleverly and lyrically the band are positive and hard-hitting. And anyway, how can you dislike a band that name a song after the amazing 1980s movie ‘Flight Of The Navigator’?!
It’s not perfect – far from it – but it’s refreshing fun, energetic and hard-hitting. Because of their wide appeal, I can see Set Your Goals becoming a mainstay in the pop-punk scene. I’m sure true hardcore fans will sneer at their attempt to push into the mainstream, but for those who like their pop-punk to have balls, this is a record that will keep a lot of people entertained for a long time.
www.myspace.com/setyourgoals
Eulogy Recordings
paul