In recent years pop-punk has taken a shift in the subject matter it covers. Where before songs painted pictures of endless summers and short-lived loves, things have taken a more serious turn as bands have started to pen lyrics concerning life’s more serious issues. Emotions run high and make for a more sentimental listen but when it comes to bands such as Coast To Coast you can hear how therapeutic their audio output is. With their follow up to 2016’s ‘Dwell’, the band are pulling at the heartstrings on a completely different level.

Channeling old school Lower Than Atlantis but with a tear-sized dash of Morrissey sadness chucked in for good measure, Coast To Coast really hit the nail on the head across these five tracks. Intense, infectious and introverted, the band put their hopes and fears out for all to see and leave nothing to chance.

Opener ‘Ajax’ is a tidal wave of sadness that washes over you with its beautifully dissonant chords while ‘Heredity’ quivers with deep-set resentment and pop bothering hooks. The band write music that feels accessible on the surface but the deeper you go, the darker it becomes. It’s in the title track that this sentiment is most evident as everything comes crashing down with a simple guitar line and guttural vocal. It’s red raw, gut-wrenchingly affecting and absolutely perfect in every sense of the word.

Oozing melancholy from every pore, ‘The Length Of A Smile’ is an emotional outpouring like no other. Honest, outspoken and brilliantly British from start to finish, Coast To Coast are making sure that they aren’t just lumped in with the usual suspects as many of their peers end up being. This is a lump in your throat you will want to feel time and time again.

4.5/5

‘The Length Of A Smile’ by Coast To Coast is released on 24th March on Fox Records.

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Words by Jack Rogers (@JackMRog)