Young Livers / Army of Ponch

What strikes in a live show doesn’t always show evenly on the studio reproduction. My first thoughts on Sound Study’s Live at the Atlantic: Volume 1: Young Livers have great guitars, and Jack Bailey of Army of Ponch can really scream. On a regular studio release, I doubt either of these elements would grab me the same way.

Having given the Young Livers’ New Drop Era a number of listens, I stand by my impressions on their guitar layering, which stick out much more prominently on their live work. Both songs on this record, “Drinks are Our Amnesty” and “Fair Well,” are taken from their first full-length, and “Fair Well” grabs attention on both releases. It’s an energetic, dense, and gruff in the No Idea vein.

Completing the release is another Gainesville band that has been around for quite some time: Army of Ponch. This is a band whose name I see a lot, yet I’m relatively unfamiliar with their work. Things start out with “America’s #1 Snack Cake” which is introduced amongst the feedback as “[the] first song we ever wrote.” It doesn’t grab me the way Young Livers’ side does, but it’s solid enough melodic hardcore. The singer has a bit of a Thomas Barnett tone to his screams and Danny Welsh’s drums, which are among the more discernible instruments in the recording, drive the melodies. The guitars feel muddled and the energy lacks because of this. For a first impression, this record underwhelms.

It captures Young Livers well, but both songs are a couple years old and the recording quality is so-so. If you’re a completest of either band, or a regular at The Atlantic this might be of interest, but otherwise, I’d look for a studio release to sample these bands.

6.0 / 10 — Loren