So, it’s February, the air is freezing, everyone is donning gloves, sweaters and there’s rumour and hearsay of snow afoot. In lieu of this meteorological phenomenon known to many as ‘winter’, Well Wisher have given us an EP called, er, Summer Gangs.
Summer gangs are a curious thing really; when you’re young it’s the kids your age who live on the streets next to yours, and you see them every day for six weeks before you have to do the unthinkable and go back to school, or sometimes it’s people you meet on holiday and stick with due to circumstance all in the name of fun.
Being the emo darlings of the Manchester ‘scene’ as it were, there’s rarely a dull moment for them in a live setting, something I’m sure they’re well aware of, and have tried to put across in a recorded format by opting for the Bill-O-Reily-At-The-Drive-In approach of doin’ it live. (Please note that I’m using my better judgement to assume that this was recorded live – if it was indeed multi-tracked, then I hope the engineer learned some valuable lessons).
Sadly, I think they’ve fallen flat at the first hurdle, with only one guitar seemingly clear and vocals that in places sound like they’ve been recorded through a telephone – it does the songs no justice, and unless you’re familiar with the band already, won’t really help you appreciate them.
Looking past that, there are three solid songs on this EP (and one cover, but I’ll come back to that). Opening song ‘Are You Crazy To Come To The Crazy Beach Party?’ is the standout track, with chant-along hooks galore and snotty, brash lyrics taking obvious digs at Sankeys beach party crowds (which is something I can thoroughly get behind). ‘Fast Past’ smacks hard of ‘Hey Everyone!’-era Dananananaykroyd and the cover is of Braid’s ‘Breathe In’ and while it’s a version that does justice to the original, it might not be the wisest of moves to draw everyone’s attention to the bands you’re attempting to be.
So summer draws to a close and you and your gang head your separate ways, you all promise to stay in touch but it’s just for show – you wish each other well and head back home to your real buddies, in a few months you’ll likely forget all about the whole thing.
Check out Summer Gangs for yourself over at Well Wisher’s Bandcamp
You can pick up a physical copy here too!
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