First in line is The Spark with four tracks of old school hardcore/punk with a rocked out edge common these days as a throwback to the genre's golden years. A few caustic guitar textures are employed, but the playing is rather tight overall - especially the drumming. They've got good uses of speed and pissed off vocal shouts that are sort of snotty, so it's pretty straightforward material. Quick but well written, so unoriginality's not really an issue. They close with a cover of Dag Nasty's "One to Two", where its killer little melodic riffs make things stand out a little from the other songs. Lyrically the material is lighthearted and talks about record collecting and such, with one generic song about choosing bikes over cars (which I've always found to be a tired and cheesy sort of subject, but whatever). The recording is nice and clear with even levels, so it sounds killer for vinyl. Bail Out! follows with six tracks of textbook old school hardcore, which is ironic as one of the songs is about kids being stuck on the whole 1988 style and refusing to progress from the "generic traditional sound" (their words). But that's basically what this is, with a few pre-'88 influences mixed in. The songs are short with energetic tempos and shouted vocals, and the writing is pretty memorable. "Spelled Out" has a killer bass break and typical structure, but the vocal delivery and overall speed are very strong. They've got another solid sound as well, very natural and dense, and while not as clear as The Spark it still sounds great on vinyl. The lyrics on this half are more pissed off and direct, dealing with people talking shit, close-minded and overly materialistic hardcore kids, and so on. The cover art is an awesome old school styled illustration with a few band photos and lyrics all done up totally consistently inside. Looks good to me. This is a nice split. I've never heard of either band but I would expect to hear more from both in the future.
[Rosewater]
Running time - 10:00 (approximately), Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: The Music or the Misery, One to Two, Keep Talking, Spelled Out]
Rosewater Records - http://www.rosewaterrecords.com
