My Everest: Cut & Crop

Cut & Crop b/w Playing Us Like Chess

Location: http://myeverest.bigcartel.com/product/cut-crop and http://myeverestband.bandcamp.com/

Release status: A-side available on iTunes, B-side on Bandcamp, both on CD

Overall feelings: Positive

My Everest took nearly a year to record anything following up their debut EP, but as they’re juggling the band with their college and university careers, I think it’s acceptable. Anyway, I’d much rather a band took long breaks between high quality releases than came out with rushed, mediocre material every couple of months, and judging by this single, My Everest fall firmly into the first category: it’s as least as good as anything on ‘Filthy Little Secrets’.

The A-side, ‘Cut & Crop’, is set apart from their earlier songs by its more mature feel and its crossing of genre boundaries. The songs on the first EP conformed to all expectations of the poppier side of pop punk, but here a more rocking influence is felt, with the guitars stepping up to duel with the vocals rather than being content to take a back seat. It doesn’t ever lose its sense of fun, though, or its target audience – lines like ‘My treatment for you is double denim’ are sure to bring a smile to any teenage girl’s face, and I defy anyone to not nod their head to the chorus. There’s possibly a little too much treatment on the vocals but otherwise the production is excellent; the rhymes in the bridge are clever; and I love all the fake-out endings that appear towards the end of the song.

‘Playing Us Like Chess’ is the B-side, and musically it’s a little less interesting (except for the great guitar solo part that plays between the second and third verses) but lyrically I prefer it, and if you’re someone who likes their songs to have a good story behind them, then this is definitely what I’d recommend. This tale of the rise and fall of a girl who treats her friends as disposable is brought to life with lines like ‘I’ll buy her a one way ticket out of this town’, and it sort of reminds me of an angry Taylor Swift on speed. The full-bodied sound and high-energy performance from all members mean this could easily be a double A-side, since although ‘Cut & Crop’ probably wins it overall for its more unique feel, I do flip-flop on which song I prefer.

If a band can go from ‘Obsession’ to ‘Cut & Crop’ in a year, all while making regular detours into the world of catchy, danceable pop, then they’re definitely worth paying attention to. If the trend continues, then whatever they come up with next is sure to completely blow me away… but I’ll wait patiently.

My Everest: Filthy Little Secrets

Filthy Little Secrets EP

Best song: Daytime Constellation

Worst song: Obsession

Overall feelings: Positive

My Everest are a group of four girls from Surrey, in the south of England, who write and record songs and play live gigs in their spare time, fitting this in around their studies. In fact, I only know of the band because I used to go to school with two of their members (just putting that out there now for it they ever become famous). Now, I’m no expert on the general quality of the local amateur music scene, but I do know that this band are pretty damn good… they’re never going to change music or win any prizes for innovation, as you can see similar sounds to theirs in Riot!-era Paramore, Avril Lavigne, Busted, and a whole bunch of other bands going right back to The Jam, but they’re talented instrumentalists and songwriters and they’re at the upper end of the genre they’re working in.  Mostly, how I’d describe them if I was trying to recommend them is: ‘they’re great for if you like modern pop music, but don’t want it to sound as cheesy or bubblegum-y as most of the radio’.

This EP, released a year ago next week, contains four of their six currently released songs, has a purposefully-rough hand drawn picture of a pair of purple Converse shoes on the cover, and lasts just 14 hyped-up minutes. It begins with the title track, ‘Filthy Little Secrets’, which is one of those songs you can’t believe people aren’t already dancing to at parties, because it’s got a chorus that deserves a whole room of people singing along to, pumping their fists. I particularly like the song’s instrumental coda – I play air guitar to it a lot…

‘The Worst Way To Sleep Is Alone’ is the token ballad, and it’s great too, in fact it used to be my favourite. I find it most interesting from a lyrics point of view; about a messed up girl who’s in a relationship with a guy she doesn’t like purely because she doesn’t want to be alone. But the tender vocals in the middle eight section hint that she may be starting to have feelings after all, and is even more confused. It’s a very emotional song.

Four songs isn’t really enough to justify a weaker one, but there is, and it’s ‘Obsession’. It’s not all bad – I think the choppy opening is awesome, and the instrumental bridges are as good as on the other songs, but the vocal part sounds forced, the lyrics are slightly creepy, and the hooks can get annoying. Also, it ends with a very awkward transition into the final track. They don’t flow together but there’s not a long enough pause for two different songs. Luckily, once you’ve got over that, you’re listening to their best song!

That’s ‘Daytime Constellation’ I’m talking about, a really catchy song that feels so natural for the band to play, like they’ve been doing it forever and now aren’t worrying about getting it right but are just enjoying performing it. A really good song is one you lose yourself in, and don’t have to concentrate on because you’re already thinking about it, and that’s what this song does.

If the idea of pop or pop-punk music is something you’ve never got into, I doubt this EP will change your mind, but if you do have a passing interest in the genre I would strongly recommend having a listen (not in shops, I think, but you can order it from their site or buy it off iTunes) – it would be a shame to miss out on My Everest just because they’re not as widely known as their influences. ‘Filthy Little Secrets’ may be very short, but musically it’s just as good as most pop albums released around the same time. Smaller percentage of filler, too.