I first heard Borderland when their EP was streaming on Absolutepunk.net a few months ago. But, I brushed them off until a friend of mine asked me to check them out again, and then I realized they were right up on alley. The EP is filled with raw, passionate pop punk that will be sure to please everyone following this “pop punk revival” that has been taking place recently. At only 8:30 minutes long, the EP is over pretty quickly, but they are hitting on full cylinders the entire time.

It opens with “These Streets Lead Nowhere”, a song that begins with a slow 45 second guitar and drum intro before blasting into the remaining 7+ minutes of high tempo action. This song examplifies that Borderland is about, their is no catchy chorus, just straight up pop punk. My personal favorite is “Confidence, Cohen”, which clocks in at a mere 1:37 minutes long. I love this song because of its lyrical hook, “I’m looking for the right one; you could be the right one” keeps me coming back. I also think this song is the most instrumentally dynamic of the bunch. “C.B” is just another solid pop punk song, which contains some gang vocals if that is your thing, and the closer “Robbie”, has some interesting lyrics that you should check out for yourself as well as some heavy vocals.

This EP is a great introduction to the band if you haven’t heard of them before. Hopefully someday we’ll get a full length out of these dudes, but for now check this out and two new songs that can be downloaded on Bandcamp for free! Also if you like it, I suggest you download their older Borderland Sucks EP from their myspace. With some support, I firmly believe they could have a bright future in the pop punk scene. Get stoked and support these guys in some way! Score: 7/10