Back in 2013, a fresh faced group of pop-punks by the name of MISS VINCENT dropped their debut EP; “Creepy”; a short burst of youthful energy that saw the 4-piece from the south east of England prove without a shadow of a doubt that, not all of the quality punk rock comes from the United States. The five tracks recorded showed great promise for the quartet (consisting of Alex Marshall on vocals / guitar, Lawrie Pattison on guitar and backing vocals, Jack Donnelly on drums and Owain Mainwaring on bass and backing vocals) so, with the release of their follow-up EP; “Reasons Not To Sleep”, expectations are somewhat high…forget sleep, is there reason enough to listen?
The EP starts with “DNR” and very soon we’re in familiar territory; it’s an up-beat track, its quick tempo by-numbers punk rock yet with a slight edge echoing the likes of ALKALINE TRIO lyrically, ever so slightly darker in content than your average punk-pop track and it’s a decent start. “Gradients Of Grey” and EP highlight “Shogun Queen” in particular maintain the EP’s overall feel, continuing to balance the fun, energetic aspects of the genre with the subtle tones of a more alternative. / emo-inspired artists such as early-day MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE at times, whereas slower tracks such as “Disparate, Desperate” show glimpses of progression creatively, departing from the typical formula the band generally exploit.
As a whole, there’s not too much of an evolution, musically, between the two EP’s…the band having merely tweaked one or two things here and there resulting in a bit of a double-edged sword. While it’s fine to see a band stick to what they know and love, honing their craft in many aspects, it can also be looked upon with a sense of stagnancy from a creative standpoint. There’s nothing generally wrong with this EP, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s more of the same and if you’re not keen on pop-punk, there’s nothing here that will change your perception of it. [6]
The EP starts with “DNR” and very soon we’re in familiar territory; it’s an up-beat track, its quick tempo by-numbers punk rock yet with a slight edge echoing the likes of ALKALINE TRIO lyrically, ever so slightly darker in content than your average punk-pop track and it’s a decent start. “Gradients Of Grey” and EP highlight “Shogun Queen” in particular maintain the EP’s overall feel, continuing to balance the fun, energetic aspects of the genre with the subtle tones of a more alternative. / emo-inspired artists such as early-day MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE at times, whereas slower tracks such as “Disparate, Desperate” show glimpses of progression creatively, departing from the typical formula the band generally exploit.
As a whole, there’s not too much of an evolution, musically, between the two EP’s…the band having merely tweaked one or two things here and there resulting in a bit of a double-edged sword. While it’s fine to see a band stick to what they know and love, honing their craft in many aspects, it can also be looked upon with a sense of stagnancy from a creative standpoint. There’s nothing generally wrong with this EP, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s more of the same and if you’re not keen on pop-punk, there’s nothing here that will change your perception of it. [6]
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