On their debut EP, Aberdeen’s Campfires show that they have all the makings of a decent band but they fail to bring anything new to the pop-punk scene. Opening track Same Streets begins with an intro that doesn’t work melodically, coming across as two opposing beats played on top of each other.
After that though, the song picks up although feels familiar for all the wrong reasons. Repeated cries of “nothing is gonna change at all” is ironic considering nothing does change in the first three songs of this EP. The Hardest Part and Pure Gold basically share their drum beat with the opening track, causing the three to blur into one long song. Like A Cancer is promising though, feeling stronger than the previous offerings and throwing itself into the mix of possible festival anthems.
The real reprieve of the EP comes with the instrumental; that’s not to dismiss the decent vocals but it is the only track on which there is any melodic variety. Sadly though, it cannot save the EP which will stick in your mind for all the wrong reasons.
4/10
For fans of: The Story So Far, Neck Deep, Man Overboard
Words by Clara Duffy
‘Campfires’ by Campfires is out now.
