The Split Seconds “S/T”

This is the debut release from The Split Seconds, a band that are described as being ‘pop punk’. Now don’t run away! We’re not talking trash US, skater rock. Instead we’re talking a lot further back and much better references, such as Elvis Costello and late 70’s Stiff Records.

There’s certainly a ‘retro’ feel to numbers like “Centre Of Attention” and “Cutting Out”. They have a seventies punk feel to them. Although the band they remind us of on tracks like “Come To Mary” is The Jam, so may be not punk at all! It’s not mod though, just punk songs with more of a melody.

There is also a pop sensibility as shown on “How Was I To Know”, a track that has us thinking about the king of pop punk, Elvis Costello. There’s a good mix on the album of the almost power pop of “Is This What I Get” and the more straightforward punk rock of “Flashing Back” and “Information Overload”.

They’ve done a really great job of keeping things simple. Numbers like “If I Was You” and “21 Months” have an authenticity that we don’t see in many bands these days. The instruments and vocals are all clear and they’re not overburdened with production or effects. They also obey by the punk rules of keeping things short and sharp with most tracks coming in at under 3 minutes. Although, “Falling In A Dream” is an exception, but it’s also a rule that every band of this ilk has at least one Clash esque song!

The whole album is quite refreshing. You get the sense of a band who are proud of their influences and committed to their music. Using the terms simple and straightforward may sound negative, but that’s certainly not the case. Instead, this is the sound of a band who seem to have gone back to the basics and produced the sound of the music they grew up with. It’s an album of songs where you know that the band will genuinely love them themselves rather than producing the dross a label or some music Svengali may try to force on them.