Album Review: Basement - 'Songs About The Weather'

Hailing from Ipswich/Nottingham in the United Kingdom, Basement is one of the shining stars in the UK pop punk scene at this very moment. After gaining a reputable fan base off the back of their 2009 demo, the band has finally unleashed their debut 7” “Songs About The Weather” onto the world stage to show bands how it should be done. Playing a style of fast melodic hardcore influenced pop punk, with a dash of emo thrown into the mix, Basement have produced six tracks of emotionally fueled, repeat worthy pop punk.

Kicking off the EP is the calm melodic intro, which leads into the guitar driven “Skip Town” and the band’s vocalist Andrew Fisher pounds out the opening line of “this town is so cold, even summer...” It’s obvious that the temperature didn’t have any effect on the band’s songwriting or Fisher’s raspy vocals, both of which are an impressive high. The guitar work in “1104 Porter St.” could easily be slotted into a Lifetime record, although the song slows down towards the end and fades out with a nice melodic outro, which adds a nice piece of variety to the track.

The chorus in “DUI” makes good use of the band’s backing vocalists, making it one of the catchiest parts of the EP. The backing vocals mix well with Fisher’s vocals, providing a good contrast between his rougher vocal approach and the more traditional clean vocals. “Meet Me In St Louis” is easily the most aggressive song on the record, which reminds me a lot of Title Fight at times. The bass tone in break sounds fantastic, spot on for the sound the band is producing. The vocal lines at the end of the song is sure to incite a few great sing-a-longs during the band’s live performances.

Last but definitely not least, “White Elephant” closes out the EP in a very enjoyable fashion. The song provides everything that Basement has to offer in the space of 2:46. From the aggressive, yet catchy vocal lines to the fast and melodic guitar parts, this song shows what the band has to offer in regards to the current pop punk scene.

“Songs About The Weather” is a very impressive debut release from this band, and I can see the band making a name for themselves internationally in the not too distant future. Definitely keep your eye on this band.

If you are a fan of bands playing this style of pop punk, then I strongly encourage you to check out this release. This EP has only been out for a month now, but I am already stinging to hear what this band will come up with next. If this band doesn’t become one of the next big bands in pop punk after this release, I don’t know what to believe in anymore.

1. Intro

2. Skip Town

3. 1104 Porter St.

4. DUI

5. Meet Me In St Louis

6. White Elephant