Atlanta punk rockers Look Alive, a 5-piece whose understanding of music is anchored by their appreciation for the guts that it takes to survive, is hitting the road this month in support of their debut EP, Mistakes & Milestones (release date: 07.02.13), and they're kicking things off right here in Charleston with a show at The Mill on Friday, July 12th.
Having more than ten years of experience behind them, filled with countless nights of going hungry and sleeping on strangers' floors or in cars, the members of Look Alive came together for their current line-up last summer, and were quickly signed to Atlanta-based record collective, Autumn + Colour Records. With Mistakes & Milestones, the band is paying homage to just that - all of the mistakes and the milestones made along the road, as well as the friends, family and fans that have all brought them to where they are today.
From the opening shreds of "Anchored", Mistakes & Milestones rips into you with all of the energy one would expect from a hard working, pop-punk band (think Polar Bear Club, or The Wonder Years), but with the melodic aggression of bands like the Deftones, or Muse's earlier stuff. George McMullan (guitar/vox), Cody Wellons (guitar) and Jace Kay (bass) fuse together in perfectly layered lockstep, while the drumming of Patrick Cash propels the songs forward like an intricately timed piece of machinery. Seamlessly moving to and from double-time beats and spitting out machine gun-like snare rolls, Cash's strength behind the drum kit compels the listener to move, whether you roll your head, stomp your feet or shake your fists.
The guitars fit snugly over the drums, a refreshing blend of classically riffy lines thick with thoughtful chord progressions. On tracks like "Sink or Swim" and "The Way I See It", McMullan and Wellons complement one another, producing a full sound with enough distortion to land the heavy punches, but without burying the details of their fancy finger work. Jace Key executes a solid foundation with his bass guitar, throwing a weight behind the band that is often lost in the overarching genre of pop-punk. But one of Look Alive's strongest attributes is perhaps the voice of singer Jacob Causey, who escapes the snotty trappings of other punk frontmen, like Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy, with a gritty aggression more on par with the likes of CKY's Devon Miller.
"Just let me take this opportunity / to say the things I need to say to you," are the first words on the record, revealing the open book that is Mistakes & Milestones. Causey's straight-forward, take-no-prisoners approach to lyrics gives the band a smart, identifiable edge above the punk fray. His voice is clear and strong, belting out lines that sway from biting ("So figure it out / and understand it's all or nothin' / I see who you are / you're going nowhere fast") to bittersweet ("This town means everything to me / so I won't go down easily / As you can see it's always the same two things / that's got me runnin' on empty").
But in "Over/Under", the last of the seven tracks, Look Alive comes full circle. "So I packed it all up / I left everything behind / there was only so much I could take / And I remember / that I was getting in the way / spending most of my time wasting space," Causey growls over spatial guitars and pounding drums.
"But these mistakes make milestones / and I'm not giving up, I'm getting out."
You can buy and stream Mistakes & Milestones via the links below, and make sure to come out to The Mill in Park Circle this Friday, July 12th, to catch Look Alive's first Charleston show! Sharing the bill will be Loners Society and el Camino. Music starts around 10p, and shows at The Mill are always FREE!
Buy Mistakes & Milestones from iTunes
Stream Mistakes & Milestones on Spotify
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