I Call Fives – Bad Advice (EP)
Written By: Jim on June 13, 2010
108 Comments
In today’s world of music, in order to make it big you’ll need to focus on one thing, and one thing only, and that is the music. This young quintet from NJ did just that by dropping out of school, changing members, and just restructuring their entire lives to make room for the music they create. I am talking about I Call Fives, a band who gained a lot of hype and has been on everyone’s lips ever since the announcement of their latest EP called Bad Advice.Bad Advice is six tracks of catchy straight-forward pop punk produced by Kory Gable (Strike Anywhere, The Dangerous Summer). As bassist Drew Conte said, “We wrote about stuff that is real to us and Bad Advice is the result” and maybe that is why Bad Advice has been well precieved among fans and other zines.
Bad Advice clocks just under 18 minutes and kicks off with the song “Hand Me Down Luck”, but I must say the song is very dull and is more or less just flat compared to the rest of the songs on the EP. The second track, “Elevator Music” would probably be a better starting position as it exhibits everything I Call Fives is about. It begins with the catchy hook “I hope this song is the elevator music, on your way to hell…” and lures you into the rest of song. Moving on to the third track I can finally feel what Drew Conte said about keepin’ it real because “Try Hard To Remember” is a song that feels very DIY and keepin’ it real to yourself and your fans. With a strong opening of heavy-hitting drums and then catchy unforgettable melody this song reminds me of the The Wonder Years and their never ending feel good choruses. The stand out track for me is the last track “Take the Fall”, with it’s beautiful acoustic build up and a strong explosive ending like a cannonball of energy that bursts and fills your eardrums but sadly that only lasts for 10 seconds.
Unfortunately I do not love Bad Advice as much as I was hoping after hearing the First Things First EP and reading about them. This EP just it did not blow me away, instead it felt like I have heard it all before. That being said, Bad Advice is a solid output that should have a place on your playlist because their music is catchy pop punk indeed, but sometimes that is just not enough. Score: 5/10
