Album Reviews

Courtesey of Say-10, comes this 12-inch split that is neatly divided between the “Tag Team Champions” that are Athen’s KarbomB and Atlanta’s Seagulls.

First up is KarbomB and in case you’re wondering, ‘holy’ and ‘crap’ are the words you’re looking for. These dudes positively rip through five songs in pure A Wilhelm Scream, Strung Out, early Propagandhi fashion with blistering speed, frenetic riffage and abrasive vocals. The vocals might be a bit too jarring at times (in “Scrape” for example), but there’s still plenty to enjoy in songs like “Holy Babble” and “Skatebreed”. Rounding things out with a double-time version of Aerosmith’s “Dream On”, it’s fair to say that KarbomB came in and got the job done.

Picking up where KarbomB left off, is Seagulls with some raw and energetic pop-punk. Kinda like a faster version of Red City Radio if you will, with hooks and sing-alongs in all the right parts. I’m not sure what happened about a minute into “Prepare To Be Underwhelmed”, but there’s a really awkward transition there. That’s pretty much the only flaw I could find though. That is, until I came across their cover of Third Eye Blind’s “Jumper”, which feels wholly unnecessary and just isn’t any good. Then again, that might just be me… I already hated the original.

Overall, “Tag Team Champions” is a fun split and serves as a good introduction to two bands I hadn’t heard before.