Splitsville - Blackouts

Splitsville are a local four-piece formed a little over one year and one month ago. Now, shortly after the anniversary of their very first show, they have released their debut EP. Four tracks make up the EP; Blackouts is the title track and starts off with a strong bass line. When the vocals start I am transported to the tiny venues I have spent my teenager years in listening to bands like this and it is a satisfying nostalgic feeling.

The other songs on the EP, Grayscale, I’ll Be Fine and Inadequacy are all different enough that you don’t feel like you’re listening to the same song four times. I’ll Be Fine is the best song on the EP, it has the fastest tempo and I connected with it the most through the lyrics and the music, which is always positive on a first listen. I found myself listening to the lyrics as I was doing other things more than I did with the other tracks.

Inadequacy I found a little off-putting at first as the song begins with two vocal tracks laid over each other which initially doesn’t sit right, and the lyrics are the most personal on the album and give you the feeling of reading someone else’s diary. But this track, like the rest of the EP, quickly grew on me the more I listened. I can’t say it’ll be something I’ll listen to all the time now, but there are definitely signs of great potential which are worth keeping an eye out for.

Throughout the EP, you can definitely hear the sounds of the bands they say they are for fans of on their Facebook page: Basement, Title Fight and Hindsights. There isn’t anything obviously original about the sound, but this doesn’t matter. What’s nice is knowing that when you’re listening to the distinct sound of grungy pop-punk here, the lyrics and emotion aren’t coming from some town in America you haven’t heard of or can’t picture, they’re coming from the town you live in. Musically it’s solid, the guitars and bass complement each other well and carry the songs. The vocals are sometimes not as strong but overall this is not a bad thing. It’s not uncommon to the genre and in this case adds to the emotional feeling and sense of being able to picture seeing it live.

This EP is a great debut from local band Splitsville. At four tracks it is almost disappointingly short but it does give a taste that leaves you wondering what else they can do. I really enjoyed the sound and the intensity in the music. It gives you the sense that this band really believe in what they’re doing and singing, something we can never have too much of in rock music. I enjoyed this EP and because of it I will definitely be looking out for what Splitsville do next.