Hurry-Up Offense!
The Labor Day EP
Filter Grade: 65%
by Josh Gloer | 00.00.0000

Irony is a funny thing, and its comedy is stamped all over the cover of the Hurry-Up Offense!’s latest release. The title of the post-punk band’s three-song collection, The Labor Day EP, is...well, fitting; they've still got some work to do. The artwork is equally telling: four runners racing to reach some unforeseen goal. There’s something about it that hints at a lack of resolution, or simply a work in progress. And while these subliminal signs of mediocrity on the EP’s cardboard sleeve are no doubt unintentional, they are a fairly clear road map of what this New York band has to offer.

Which is not to say that these guys don't have potential, it's just that they haven't fully realized it yet. The guitars won’t exactly put a listener to sleep--the way they crunch over hyper-fast punk beats is energetic, if not danceable--but these three tracks lack the attitude their state of origin is known for. Buzzing guitar riffs clash with nice guy vocals, and the lyrics are a strange mix of bubble gum and bitterness (reminiscent of a college roommate’s hungover rants). Hence, we learn to take the good with the bad.

On the optimistic anthem “Punk Life (Juicy),” the singer declares, “Don’t let them hold you down/Reach for the stars.” Sure, it's inherently cheesy, but the words should remain the band’s credo. While they have climbed the ranks to emerge a head above above the talentless herd, one thing stands between them and airtime: An edge.