Album Review: Ready Set Low - Lost At Sea EP

Ready Set Low are a five-piece ‘easycore’ band from Bath. By easycore, I mean that oh-so-popular sound that blends pop-punk with hardcore riffs and beatdowns, gang-vocals and the occasional scream. Bands like Four Year Strong and Me vs Hero are prime examples, and the apple hasn’t fallen too far from the tree with Ready Set Low. What they lack in originality, they make up for in energy, and although we have heard a million things like this again and again, there’s something about ‘Lost At Sea’ that makes Ready Set Low stand out.

It is absolutely crucial that you check the volume of your music player before pressing play, as Ready Set Low don’t believe in gentle intros. The band is full pace and full volume from the start for opening track ‘Lost At Sea’. Serving more as an intro track than anything else, ‘Lost At Sea’ displays everything that you can expect from this quintet; slick production, sugary vocals and hooks. First track proper, ‘Lights Out’ is a sugar sweet anthem, which could rival You Me At Six, for teen appeal. Admittedly, the riffs are ever so slightly meatier than the aforementioned, but the appeal is similar.

The fantastically titled ‘Like A Clown, Charlie Brown’, once again shows off the fantastic production of Jason Wilcock. There are more ‘core elements to this track, shouted vocals, double-pedal drumming and even the odd pinch-harmonic. Vocalist Alex’s vocals are perfect and once again the track is incredibly catchy. ‘Like A Clown, Charlie Brown’ is very similar to the kind of tunes Me vs Hero have been pumping out recently, which is no bad thing.

There is more slick production on offer for ‘October’, which starts very similar to ‘Days That Shape Our Lives’ by Me Vs Hero, and is probably the weakest track on the album. ‘October’ is a straight up pop-rock song in the vein of All Time Low. It’s not bad, but it doesn’t really standout. The best song is the last song, the very tongue in cheek ‘It’s Good To Be A Vampire’. The shouted refrain of "Sleep all day, party all night, never f’in die!" is incredibly catchy, and the track as a whole is super-fast and at times absolutely pummels. Though there is clearly a jokey element to this tune, you can’t help but feel that this is where the band are at their best.

‘Lost At Sea’ is a fun record, there is no question about it. While there may be many others producing similar things, Ready Set Low don’t come across as contrived or lacklustre. This may be contributed to the excellent production skills of Jason Wilcock, and the band’s real test will be in the live setting, but they sure do know how to write a catchy tune. If you are looking for the next big thing, Ready Set Low probably aren’t it, but if you want a solid fun record with the odd blinder, there’s no need to look further than ‘Lost At Sea’.

4/5

'Lost At Sea' EP by Ready Set Low is available now.

Ready Set Low on MySpace, Twitter and Facebook.

Dan Issitt