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Item: Move To Bremerton
Author: James Stewart

Move To Bremerton

(1996)

Reviewed by James Stewart

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Label Tooth & Nail RecordsThe LighthouseJune 1997

pop punk punk skate punk

Here you get five tracks from one of the hottest Christian punk bands around. Two of the tracks also appear on the later album, Life In General. The sound is pop-punk, a la Green Day (there, I've said it), and is influenced by the Southern Californian punk of the late eighties.

The first track, "Move To Bremerton," is possibly the best track from the afore-mentioned album. Lyrics deal with the problem of long-distance relationships and demonstrate the band's slightly tongue-in-cheek approach:

I'll change the street signs you drive down So you'll end up in my town I'll redraw the maps all one by one So they'll lead to Bremerton

Musically it is up-beat and some nice touches make this a perfect choice for a single release. Also in evidence are some great harmonies, which came as something of a surprise to me.

Next track up is a typical "young man in love" song called "Rock And Roll Girl." It displays the band's talent for writing memorable sing-along melodies, but avoids the standard "teenage angst" that you usually encounter in these songs.

"Circumstances" deals with heavier issues:

Life is not a job or a career Living is not smoking and drinking beer You can't play with Sarah, not today You may think it's yours, it's yours, it's yours to be

Suddenly the whole thing steps up a gear with a blistering track called "Easier Said Than Done," which unfortunately clocks in at under 90 seconds. I still can't work out the lyrics, but it shows that the band can play more than just melodic songs!

The EP closes with another track from Life In General. "Chick Magnet" appears here in an acoustic form which gives more space to Mike's great vocals. The harmony that the song begins with is perhaps a bit amateurish, but I get the feeling that that is intentional.

Despite the fact that the sound is fairly typical of the genre, this band stands out as an enthusiastic group who could well be rated as one of the best of their type. Overall this EP left me gasping for more. I have few complaints with it, and apart from the odd detail, this is a great release.