PVMNTS say they’re for fans of Blink-182, State Champs and The Story So Far, and that’s about as accurate as you’re going to get. Forward thinking in sentiment but with the same frenzied, hurried sound of the pop-punk bands of fifteen years ago, EP ‘Better Days’ bridges old skool scrappiness with the emotional side of their peers.
‘Another Monday’ is charmingly unpolished and could easily be slotted into a ‘90s film. Every pop-punk band worth their salt had a cameo at a movie high school ball and this would have done the job nicely, with its inoffensive, upbeat style and simple chorus. It’s nothing we haven’t heard before, but does it really matter? They might be an unessential addition, but the melodic ‘Heavy Moon’ suggests there’s a space for PVMNTS in among the ever-expanding pop punk repertoire.
There are moments it doesn’t make sense, however. Lyrics like “I love you so much and I can still feel your touch” during ‘Standing (On My Own Two Feet)’ might be lapped up by fans but reach awkward levels of sentimentality. Singing “Thanks to you I will be okay, now open the doors now on to better days” in a final soft, acoustic moment feels out of place in relation to ‘White Walls’’ big chords and bouncing mosh pit chorus.
Barely allowing a moment to breathe, PVMNTS race through their six-track EP with ferocity. It could be a tricky listen were it longer and you need plenty of stamina to keep up, but it works in this shorter format. There are things that work: the energy, the nostalgia and the gravelly vocals of ‘Hit The Ground’, but there is plenty that you can find better elsewhere. Perhaps these pop-punk guys are set to get lost in the sea of similar sounding bands in the line up of any small festival. Hopefully, they can prove us wrong.
3/5
PVMNTS links: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
‘Better Days’ EP by PVMNTS is released on 17th August.
Words by Kathryn Black (@kathrynblack07)
