Two Dutch punk groups decided to join forces. 2020 saw their dreams of playing live go up in smoke. What to do instead? Write new music! Both bands bring three tracks to the table.
Ink Bomb is the most experienced band of the two with an EP and full length under their belt. In my review of that full-length album I compared them to fellow Dutchies Antilectual and Sweet Empire. Nothing much has changed and that comparison is still very much accurate. Expect melodic punk that could have been written in the nineties or noughties. Opening track “Mutilation Boy” starts off fast, exposing their achilles heel right away. Their singer has not improved much since Fiction, still sounding too sweet for the music. On top of that the lyrics don’t flow naturally making this song sound a bit awkward. This problem is not unique for the three songs on their side of the split. “Dorothy Enters Technicolor” is slightly better, mainly due to a catchy chorus. It is ruined for me by the female vocals near the end. These vocals are so shaky and unsteady it destroys everything the song has built up. Best track on this side is “Turn It Around”. What I would love is for the singer to sound more confident, more urgent, more convinced of the message he is delivering. The music would really benefit from that.
No Breakfast Goodbye has one of the more strange names I have encountered lately. This is their first release after two singles. Musically they are cut from the same cloth as Ink Bomb although I do think they are slightly more influenced by the Californian skate punk scene. “No Dice” starts fast and catchy. No Breakfast Goodbye sounds a bit faster and more urgent compared to Ink Bomb. You have heard this before, but somehow that is okay. The same goes for best song of this split: "The Losers Club". Something to work on are the gang vocals, which sound a bit thin. Final song “Fisherman’s Friend” is the longest track on this EP, it clocks in at almost 4,5 minutes. Still it flies by quickly, although it is not really memorable.
For me No Breakfast Goodbye is the best band on this EP. I like the style they pursue slightly better. I do have my doubts if they could keep me focused if they would release a full length now. I think that in order to do that they would need to improve a bit.
A special mention for the brilliant artwork by Jord Jansen. I dig how the dark colors contrast the bright red lettering. Fun fact: the diver and the astronaut are featured in video’s these bands made for the singles of this EP.
