Campfires: Campfires

Artist: Campfires
Title: Campfires (S/T)
Format Reviewed: MP3
Format Released: 15th January 2016
Reviewed By: Will Bright

In 2013, Autumn In Disguise, who had for over three years been exploring various incarnations of pop-punk to some success, (Let's Call This A Home Run is a banger) broke up. In 2015, three of their number got back together and brought in new members to continue their odyssey into the depths of pop-punk. What they came up with, while undeniably summery and musically solid, is arguably inescapably generic.

Don't get me wrong, Campfires' debut EP would slip in easily into any playlist of modern pop-punk.  The issue is that it seems so intentional, so deliberately 'pop-punk' that it loses the edge that defines the best punk bands of any generation.

There are things to like here. It's clear the three have been playing and writing together for a long time: the musicianship is of a quality that is rare in debut releases, and it benefits for it. A special shoutout to drummer James Forbes, whose skills stood out in Autumn In Disguise and have only gotten better. There are guitar riffs throughout which are sick, and none of this is clearer than in the instrumental bonus track, a slow piece that eschews the other tracks' need for catchiness in favour of atmosphere. It's totally unfair, and totally redundant, to say that it's the most different track on here, but it is. If anything, it's the band sounding at their best, and if they went in a direction like that I'm sure they would put out some wicked stuff.

Let's chat about the real songs though, the pop-punky catchy-chorusy jams on which Campfires have placed the real weight of the EP. Same Streets, as the lead single, somehow epitomises what disappoints me most about the album. It's chorus, talking about walking through the same damn streets, singing the same damn songs, and not wanting to change it at all, becomes a love letter to monotony. It's hard to listen to it without thinking of the pop-punk scene, which has been in a constant struggle with stagnation since the turn of the millennium, and which finds its best acts when artists get fed up with the same damn songs. It's catchy, sure, but catchy is easy. It's pushing the boat out to find something different and shake up the genre that's hard, and that's where Campfires seem to have fallen short of their forebears.

I won't touch too much on The Hardest Part, save to say it's my least favourite on here. Mainly because I actually do think that Pure Gold and Like A Cancer are good tracks and deserve a shout. Again, there's nothing groundbreaking here, but Pure Gold has the best energy on the EP, a rhythmic mix-up that works really well and keeps the whole thing feeling fresh throughout. It's probably one of the least catchy songs on here, but in its favour, the guitars are on point throughout, the drums are brilliantly done, and I'm always a sucker for a cheeky little bass 'solo' à la Mark Hoppus.

Like A Cancer is, in my mind, undoubtedly the best track on here. Of all the catchy choruses here, this is my favourite: again, a varied rhythm, mixed with vocalist Mike Hendo pushing himself further than in the other tracks, and damn it works. It's bridge, quiet and guitar-focused sets up the final chorus perfectly, and shows off the subtle interplay of two guitars riffing that is in the background of so many of these songs and never really noticed.

Ultimately, that's what disappoints most about Campfires. It's clear that this quintet are not only solid musicians, but that they are genuinely good songwriters. So much, though, could be improved by taking more risks, by trying to be more than just a pop-punk band de jour, and instead trying to introduce something new to the genre, to reinvigorate rather than just repeat.