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.