EP REVIEW: EGOS AT THE DOOR

Egos at the Door are a four piece hailing from Blackburn, who describing themselves as Punk/Post-Hardcore/Ska-Core, which as a description of their sound is almost too accurate. Their five track eponymous EP tumbled into my inbox recently and has been playing along in the background almost continuously since then.

My first impression was the bands similarities to Birmingham troopers Blakfish, powerful, standoffish and schizophrenic, indeed its only takes 45 seconds for the first track to sit down and change it’s mind about where it wants to go. What took me by surprise was when the wave of riffs stopped and the ska suddenly started. Often these changes are done abruptly and you know why? Because it’s more fun that way.

EatD are very much a band of their time, you can hear all the bands they grew up with shining through, even the track names are of that clunky conversational type as is the style du jour. As I mentioned, their description is very fitting. The songs sit firmly in the riffs and screams of Post Hardcore, ensuring they’ll always been something cathartic to enjoy. But the Punk sensibilities show through in the lyrics and the attitude, with Ska interludes to relieve some of the tension. It all fits together very nicely, and the band’s sound has clearly been honed live, with songs you can have a bit of a sing and a dance and a fight to, all in one sitting. Even on record, the result is very satisfying.

The first three tracks of the EP are impressive, and have enough riffs and hooks to climb into your head and get caught up there.  The recording is tight, but with that raw edge of a brand new band bleeding through, just the way it should be. My only real grip with the EP is that the last two tracks feel like rehashes of ideas already covered on previous tracks. But this is not harmful to the overall effect . I think it’s easy to say that Egos at the Door are definitely ones to look out for in the future, and definitely one to go see if you get the chance!

Joel