Music Reviews: About The Mess / Seized Up - "White City Blackouts" 7" split

I'm not gonna lie, I'm not a big fan of split releases. Usually it's one great band mixed with one less than great band. Sometimes you'll hit it out of the park. But most of the time it's a waste of time. But I was pleasantly surprised when I heard the latest split by About The Mess and Seized Up called "White City Blackouts", out on June 5th on Whoa! Records. All 4 songs are actually really good! Chalk this one up folks! It's a real winner!

About The Mess have been Critical Mass faves gong back to last years live EP "Give Me The Mic, I'm Drunk Already" and their studio EP "Anthem Of Imperfection". Both solid releases in their own right. Now the bands back with two new tracks. The opening track is the anthem "I Remember '94". This is a catchy little ditty about how the punk scene of years ago was much more acceptable and cool than the current day's watered down version. I remember '94 like it was yesterday. Good times! And this song will have those who were around then reminiscing about how great those days were. Next up is "Angry Bastard". This is the hardest tune I've heard yet by ATM. And I really like it. It's got a fast paced beat and a great guitar solo. Since the band has had a slight line-up change on this release, I do miss former guitarist Mike Carlson. But new guitarist Adam Instefjord is a capable player who fits in well with the band. These two songs are a little more polished production wise, but are equally as effective as a whole. Good stuff.

Side B is all about Seized Up. This Detroit 4 piece are really good musicians and songwriters bringing their A game to this split. "Keep On Truckin' " is a cool tune with a great beat and a sing along chorus. I like catchy tunes that make you wanna sing along the first time you hear it. And this tune has it all. "Million Little Pieces" is another great tune. It kinda reminds me of The Lawrence Arms a little bit. But just a little. These guys have the chops as not only musicians but as songwriters as well. I'm looking forward to hearing more from Seized Up. All in all I'm warming up to the fact of split records. If all of em can sound this good, I would have no issues at all.

4 / 5 stars