Junior Battles

Fast paced yet downbeat, with the slightest hint of emo thrown into the mix, Junior Battles EP Hotel Bibles is a lively and promising piece of pop rock with soul. All too often a throw away genre, Hotel Bibles explores the more meaningful side of thrashy, throwaway rock with angry lyrics and dramatic changes of pace throughout.

In “Rip It Up” Junior Battles have an angst ridden, shouty sing-a-long that embeds itself in the head, offering a lyrical clarity and rhythmic pace changes that set it apart from the rest of the EP. Opener “Decades” is another stand out, more akin to Blink 182 minus the spurious body part references. It wont set the world on fire, but Hotel Bibles is certainly a promising baby step onto the scene for a band that’s oozing potential, particularly in their playful use of riffs and clever alterations of rhythm.

The lyrics occasionally suffer from a slight burial below the heavier barrages of guitars, and what at times is an endearing attempt to avoid repetition sometimes cost them slightly in terms of coherence, particularly in “Rip It Up”, which for all it’s class, invariably needs to be repeated just to hear the catchy chorus one more time. It’s interesting, varied and lively, but for all its energy Hotel Bibles is just a touch short of bang on. Not to worry; there’s more than enough here to warrant a purchase, and stacks of potential to suggest that Junior Battle’s next offering might just hit the musical nail on the head.  [ END ]

Track Listing:

01. Decades
02. Hotel Bibles
03. Rip It Up
04. We’re Not Coming Down
05. Will and Words
06. Boats

Run Time: 15:36