Album Review: The Company We Keep - S/T EP

The Company We Keep is part side-project, part launching-pad for vocalist Amy Brennan, who was discovered by former The Receiving End of Sirens member Brian Southall after he saw her YouTube cover videos. Southall is the driving force behind the band, and he was able to recruit Justin Pierre from Motion City Soundtrack into the group from his current position as MCS’s tour manager. The music is Southall’s, the lyrics Pierre’s and the voice Brennan’s - Misery Signal’s drummer Branden Morgan fills in behind the set.

This three track offering features two originals and a re-imagining of the At The Drive-in song, "Pattern Against User". The Company We Keep offer an industrial-tinged pop-rock, with glitchy electronics, angular melodies and Brennan’s Amy Lee-inspired vocal work. It results in a slightly confused effort, though.

The second track, "The Company She Keeps", could easily be a MCS song - Pierre’s lyrics are quite recognizable - except it features Brennan’s voice, from which her phrasing and delivery is eerily reminiscent of Pierre’s. At least on "Right/Wrong", Brennan is able to create a more unique vocal style, but if she’s not writing these songs, then the progression from her time spent covering songs on YouTube to this release isn’t that great - an argument underlined by the appearance of "Pattern Against User", an ‘accidental’ cover that only came about after Pierre realized that the lyrics fit perfectly over Southall’s arrangement. You can understand why Pierre, with MCS set to release their new album soon, wouldn’t want to spend too much time writing lyrics for this side-project, in which he will only appear as an occasional touring member.

Neither "The Company She Keeps" or "Right/Wrong" are bad songs, in fact, both have strong hooks and, as you’d expect from something written by one of the most underrated lyricists in the genre, effective lyrics. The electronic touches in the background with dirty distortion and strong bass are throwbacks to genres of music probably best left in the last decade, but actually do a good job, at least differentiating this from cookie-cutter pop-punk.

However, there’s something that is lacking from The Company We Keep and that seems to be an identity divorced from the achievements of its members - though this is something hard to achieve with just two original songs.

There’s no doubt Brennan is a capable vocalist and that Southall is a more than capable songwriter, but they may be best served nailing down a sound that is unique to them, rather than relying on a synthesis of influences from the component parts.

3/5

Nick Robbins