Transit – “Stay Home”

Boston emotional hardcore act (sorry one-sheet, that’s the only way they’re being described around here) Transit have have offered up a pretty decent release within a genre that, incidentally, they don’t like to use to classify themselves. I’m skeptical to agree that there’s “surprisingly complex, innovative songs” found here, though they do certainly get the blood boiling and keep the energy level high.

Of the first five tracks, three are pretty run-of-the-mill as far as this genre is concerned – upbeat and urgent, though ultimately forgettable. The other two, though, are pretty strong at-bats. “Nameless” offers quite a bit of variety for the melodic hardcore tag, with some great interaction between the band’s three (lead and two back-up) vocalists providing some sticky singalongs capped with a really bouncy half-time outro. “Stays The Same” also finds the band nailing some gripping harmonies at just the right time in front of some driving guitar riffage, quite akin to what Fireworks did a bit earlier this year with their full-length.

The sixth track here is called “Outbound,” and is the only track to clock in at over four minutes, which set of the “now we’re getting serious with a ballad or toned-down closer” alarm. Needless to say, the song is mostly acoustic and tries to highlight the band’s melodic musings to little avail. There simply isn’t enough strength among the vocalists to write anything enchanting enough to work in a stripped-down environment, not to mention the voices themselves aren’t really that strong in this context. It’s only true disappointment of the album, as the other tracks are either competent or – in the two cases discussed – slightly above average. The EP is by no means a waste of time, but I’m truly left to wonder if a band swinging less around .500 on an EP can really fill up a full-length with anything of value. I guess we’ll see down the road, but for now, this one’s good enough, I guess.  [ END ]

Track Listing:

01. Stay Home
02. Nameless (Songs To Static)
03. Stays The Same
04. Atlas
05. Riverside
06. Outbound

Run Time: 17:56
Release Date: 04.14.2009