Title: Animal Needs
Format Reviewed: Stream
Format Released: 13th May 2014
Reviewed By: Ben Goold
2013 saw Philly based punk outfit Ex Friends release their debut album Rules For Making Up Words. Half a year on and the tones of the punk rock sound have been spiced up with a touch of pop-punk and, dare I say, indie rock resonance. Their new EP, Animal Needs, released on May 13th via Coolidge Records hears Ex Friends take their sound to new places whilst keeping their roots firmly in the ground.
Animal Needs wastes no time getting started with the in-your-face track Don’t Do It Like That (Do It Like This) offering combined female/male vocal melodies that provide strong hooks with a catchy guitar riff to match, it has an unexpected bounce to the rhythm giving it that (dare I say again) indie rock feel. The record then takes it back to the East Coast punk roots with Real Life bringing a sound close to bands like The Ramones, it’s a solid punk rock track with a hook that you can already hear punk fans shouting out.
The third track, Word Police is a fun, tongue-in-cheek song that stands at one-minute long. An ironic use of lyrics makes it the sort of song that you want to play when you are angry with your parents. Finally, the EP concludes with Fadeage (City Inspector) which perhaps is the closest in sound to the band's début album, but then out of nowhere, there's an unexpected sax solo in the middle of the song! A more heartfelt and emotive feel to this track makes it a great close to the EP.
Ex Friends are a good example of what the East Coast has to offer to punk rock and the combined use of unusual instruments, some unique rhythms and melodic melodies makes Animal Needs a refreshingly surprising record despite not losing any of the good ol’ punk that we’re used to hearing from them.
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