Leeds based five-piece These Minds, are seeing their year out with the release of a new EP, ‘Pour Out’. While pop-punk music has been thriving of late, it’s also treading a fine line of becoming over done and in some cases, pretty mundane.

‘In My Way’ is a firey opener though. It starts with a scratchy lead guitar intro that plays through the song’s chorus and the drums sound distant until the whole band kicks in with aplomb. The following track, ‘Shaping’ is a bit heavier, but again, there’s a big focus on guitar leads which is true of the entire EP. These catchy lead lines sticking out through the stomping beats and thick bass serve as a way of adding a certain bounce to the tracks. They up the overall “summer” vibe that bands like this strive to create.

Recently released single, ‘Emley Moor Mast’ sits in the middle of the record and brings with it a slightly slower pace, but remains as angsty as anything else on here. It showcases the band’s softer side in parts which makes it a good single choice and it is sure to provoke some singalongs on their upcoming tour to promote the record.

Adam Rank has a grit to his voice that sits somewhere between screaming and clean singing, and coupled with the somewhat rough production of the EP, gives These Minds more of a foot in punk than many a pop-punk band currently doing the rounds.

For a band in their infancy, These Minds seem to be on the right track. A full-length record could see the lads explore things outside of the genre if they wanted too, but with ‘Pour Out’ they have something short and sweet that’s aggressive and packed with hooks.

3/5

‘Pour Out’ by These Minds is out now on Disconnect Disconnect Records.

These Minds links: Facebook|Twitter|Instagram|Big Cartel

Words by Shane Sanderson (@shanoscapanos)