Title: Homeless By Choice
Format Reviewed: MP3
Format Released: 22nd September 2015
Reviewed By: Lee Morton
Having recently signed to Dutch rock label Morning Wood Records, Croatian melodic punk band Fast Response have released a new EP, Homeless By Choice as well as a physical release of their 2014 album, Welcome To Corruptia. The band formed in 2013 over a mutual love of 90s skatepunk bands like NOFX, No Use For A Name and Strung Out and those influences are all over this six track EP.
Title track, Homeless By Choice, is about life on the road as a touring band and is classic skatepunk: guitars buzz at 100mph, there's relentlessly tight drumming and hugely melodic vocals. It's a good solid start. Stay Away keeps the pace up but is slightly more serious in tone.
There is plenty of evidence of progression between the debut album and this EP, with some of the more tongue-in-cheek humour having been left behind and a more hardcore sound coming to the fore, especially in the heavy breakdown at the end of My Life. That's not to say Fast Response have in any way forgotten the sound that brought them together as Where And How could have been taken off of any number of Fat Wreck Chords' releases from the last twenty years, with its melodic chorus and backing harmonies.
They finish the mini-album with the one-two of Don't Need To Know and Need To Know, the former being a simple acoustic intro to the final track proper. Need To Know, despite a couple of childish lines ("don't need to kill, have a beer" for example), shows a more serious sound and perhaps hints at a future direction.
Despite the six tracks here clocking in at just under fifteen minutes there's plenty to excite and Fast Response look to be an excellent addition to the Morning Wood family.
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