Handguns/Forever Came Calling
Split 7”
Pure Noise Records (2011)
Sounds Like: Energetic, heartfelt pop-punk
Score: 8.5/10
Anywhere But Home and Don’t Bite Your Tongue, the first two EPs from Harrisburg PA’s Handguns, put these kids on the map with addicting, fun and fast-paced pop-punk. Handguns really outdo themselves on this split, and every song sounds as heartfelt as it does well-written.
“Smoke & Mirrors” kicks the album off as an anthem for the restless. I’ve always enjoyed Handguns’ ability to complement their up-tempo style of punk with easy-to-remember, relatable lyrics. While a pop-punk song about being fed up with your surroundings is hardly groundbreaking, most bands don’t have a vocalist that can reach the level of emotion that Taylor Eby can. “The seconds pass like hours and these hours pass like days. What do you know about being afraid?” yells Eby with bone-chilling ferocity. The next track, “Swallowing Knives,” is a short, simple song about forcing yourself to come to terms with disappointment in your life. The song itself is fine, but on this split, it gets completely overshadowed by the next track.
“Where Are You?” is the flagship tune on this split, and it encapsulates what makes Handguns an awesome band. It’s a cry for understanding after losing a loved one. It’s a declaration of someone’s importance to you, dead or alive. It ends with the powerful lines “They tell me you’re in Heaven, and if that’s true, tell God it doesn’t need you half as much as I do.”
All in all, this collection of Handguns songs leaves me greedy for more.
Aside from Humptulips, WA and Intercourse, PA, Twentynine Palms, CA is one of my favorite town names ever. It may have something to do with palm trees being sweet and the mystery behind the seemingly arbitrary twenty-nine number (I refuse to Google this), but mostly I love it because it’s home to one of the catchiest pop-punk bands in all the land. The Forever Came Calling material on this split are the first new songs since the 2010 release of their debut EP “HopE. P.assion,” and they certainly don’t disappoint.
“Front Porch Sunrise,” the first single off the split, is pretty much the perfect Forever Came Calling song. It not only displays Joseph Candelaria’s vocal skills and range, it also shows FCC’s tight musicianship, as the bridge is an intricate drum line laced with a fun guitar riff and topped off with a few chant-worthy lines. “Contrition” starts the album off as a cool little intro with a rolling snare drum and overlapping vocals. “Knott Sky or Luckie?” closes out FCC’s portion of the split with a tale about the path you choose to take in life. Lyrically, I’d say these songs are above average, but there is probably some room for growth as far as scribing goes.
While short, this split record is a good indication of how great these two bands can sound. Handguns and Forever Came Calling are among the new breed of passionate, talented, and hard-working bands making a name for themselves on the pop-punk landscape. You can preview and download the split now from the Pure Noise Records Bandcamp page.
-Felipe Garcia
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