Bristol upstarts, A Year Today are an extremely
young band, still in their infancy under this name. Once known as Albion, they
gigged for close to a year, before realizing that they weren’t playing the
stuff they wanted to. Albion as a name didn’t suit the sound that they wanted
to pursue, so they underwent the rebranding before releasing this; their debut
EP.
First off, this EP is 4 songs long, definitely
the best length for an EP and clocks in at 15 minutes, which again is the best
area of time. At 4 songs long, the EP allows the band to show what they can do
without giving away too much. First track ‘I Remember My First Beer’ has
features great guitar work from George Smith and Josh Mortazavi, leading into a
Biffy Clyro-esque bridge with gang vocals which will make this tune a great
live banger. Singer, David Hackett’s vocals are a joy to listen to, and his
charisma pours through the speakers.
Second track ‘2607’ is a slower affair, but shows
off Hackett’s vocals to their fullest, in a dark and brooding atmosphere,
featuring another great chorus, while showing off some very heartfelt lyrics,
and sounds like the most likely song to make a connection with the listener.
It’s a real lighters in the air, arms swaying song, showing that they have a
side that can please all listeners.
‘Oh Captain’ explodes into life with a vigor
and riff which would work well as an opener to a live set, crunchy and
intricate, it then turns into a rock stomper, featuring furious drumming action
from Will Earl, and it’s clear that him and Conor Freeney on Bass have a great
understanding, creating the canvas for the guitarists to create a picture, and
Hackett to add the finishing touches. This is without doubt the strongest song
on the EP, combining everything that a strong debut song needs.
Title track ‘We Are The Young’ closes out the
EP, and it’s another strong song. Combining everything the last three songs
have, and creating this tune, brings out one of the best choruses this year
punctuated by the line ‘We are the young, this is old news’ symbolizing the
struggles of dealing with growing up and dealing with parents moaning about
stopping hobbies to create a career. ‘This is old news’ in particular hits home
with being told over and over that hobbies are a waste of time now. An obvious
choice to be a lead single, and most bands would be proud to have a song as
good as this as their introduction to the wider world.
Overall, this EP is a fantastic mission statement
for the band. The fact that the band
consists of 5 long-term friends shows throughout the EP, as their playing is
tight throughout, the gang vocals are placed well, and the band have taken
great care to put their best foot forward. These guys are definitely one to
look for!
For fans of: Deaf Havana, You Me At Six, Taking
Back Sunday.
Check out the video for 'We Are The Young' here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeGlTSIfFvA&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=AYearToday
A Year Today are on tour in April, check their Facebook for the dates: https://www.facebook.com/ayeartodayband/
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