Already, in the few months since this album came out on Yellowcard guitarist Ben Harper's Takeover Records, I have heard several kids talking about how they had just heard of this "new band" called Craig's Brother. Before I continue, allow me to clear up a common fallacy: Craig's Brother are pop-punk veterans. If you will take a brief trip with me down memory lane and recall what some might describe as the glory days of Christian punk, you might remember that Craig's Brother once shared the Tooth & Nail roster with the likes of MxPx, Stavesacre, Ghoti Hook, Value Pac, and the list goes on. Now, just a few years after the band officially announced its demise, Craig's Brother has reunited and recorded their brand new EP, Epidemic.
This release picks up exactly where Craig's Brother left off: combining the breakneck melodic-punk of Homecoming and the mellow ambience of Lost At Sea. The tight blend of start-and-stop guitars and busy drumming backing up the atypical vocal style of Ted Bond remain unchanged after their brief retirement. The songs also offer a robust punch of catchiness while blending together energetic melodies with some interesting introspection. The production is very well done (which is to be expected as Takeover is a pretty large label). There are very few noticeable flaws on Epidemic, but it is not perfect: the songs do not sound too different from one another, which makes it difficult to listen to for long periods of time. And while it might be selfish desire, after going a few years without hearing anything from them, I would have liked the Craig's Brother comeback EP to be a little longer than 17 minutes.
Epidemic is not too different from past Craig's Brother releases. The song structures are similar; the music, vocals, and lyrical style all remain unchanged; and the hooks are written the same way. That said, if you are a fan of the band, you will most definitely enjoy this EP (especially since it is only a few dollars at the Takeover Records website), but if you didn't like Craig's Brother back in their Tooth & Nail days, then you will probably want to avoid this, as the band's sound has (for the most part) remained unaffected through the years since their breakup.
3/4
