Freshman 15 – 5 Ways To Get To Third Base
Freshman 15 is awaiting the release of their debut album (Throw Up Your Hands For One Night Stands) coming out February 17th. In the mean time I thought I would throw up a review for their EP, 5 Ways To Get To Third Base. Freshman 15 consists of four members who specialise in an infectious brand of powerpop. From their insatiable hunger to entertain, to their colourful t-shirts, it’s apparent they are down with the scene. But more importantly they possess a high energy act that leaves little to the imagination and is constantly delivered in full force. While Freshman 15 didn’t blow me away with this EP, I am very interested to see how their full length will turn out in three weeks time.
Freshman 15 brings a lot of great things to the powerpop scene. They easily deliver on the fast paced and non stop instrumentals. The one issue I have with this band is the consistent use of high pitched vocals, but that’s just a preference of mine and can’t be helped. While I like the vocals and can appreciate the energetic performance, over time it wears down on me and seemingly makes the music a little repetitive and less memorable. Fortunately the songs are built to be down right catchy and somewhat addictive, which is this bands greatest strength. Taking a look at Phoenix Can Keep You, the very first track, we hear the really exciting and superb instrumentals that I enjoy most. They match up nicely with the emphatic vocals and combine to deliver exciting music that’s never at a stand still. The lyrics were also surprisingly pleasant and uplifting without being too touchy or too soft. Again the vocals in this song threw me off a little bit because the verse and chorus blended in too well, and therefore the song lacked different levels which I would have preferred. Otherwise the track has potential to be an instant party hit with the ample power and fun pop.
For the most part the EP has a track list of songs that sound similar in every aspect. From the vocals to the instrumentals, Freshman 15 hardly strays away from the winning combination they have going. Obviously this may be their down fall if the LP comes out to be twelve of the same tracks over and over. But in regards to this EP, the consistency shows an on going effort for quality. With that said, the songs are not exact, just very similar in style. Count On It did a much better job of changing levels in both the instrumentals and vocals. The verse and chorus were clear, and the transitions were noticeable but clean. I felt the second track proved to be more memorable because of this subtle difference.
Likewise Are You Ready For This had a much more distinct chorus than the others, with a nice catchy hook to grab the attention of listeners. It also exemplified more of the addictive guitar work, which seems to be the intro for every song on this EP. I can’t complain because the first 20 seconds of every track is a terribly fun listen and get’s the mood set straight away. The EP finishes as it starts, and beyond the extensive sound, they have quite a simple style which they stick to. Freshman 15 does a good job of masking this simplicity with large efforts to produce a large sound.
I like Freshman 15, but only just. As an EP the effort really grabbed my attention, but really it’s only a teaser for a full length. I’m really excited to see if Freshman 15 can step up to create something a little more diverse, but at the same time their style is a winning strategy.
Check out their Myspace for the other two tracks.
Freshman 15 – Phoenix Can Keep You
Freshman 15 – When Cheating Had Feeling
Tags: EP
1st way to get to third base: Not looking like the guy on the right.