Call The Zoo

Clocking in at a whopping 6 minutes, Richmond, VA’s Hold Tight! combines teenage angst, melody and aggression to concoct a delicious blend of melodic punk with their newest release, Call The Zoo. This tasty melodic morsel is reminiscent of many of the classics in the genre; Saves The Day, Lifetime, Kid Dynamite, Hot Water Music, yet it still stamps an individual style onto the listeners forehead. 

The parties out and the authorities have been informed, scouring the streets for this rager of a release. Filled with vicious and speedy songs, all clocking in at just under a minute,  “Meade Skeleton Birthday Party” the shortest at 59 seconds, Call The Zoo promises you will wake up passed out naked in your neighbors yard, wondering what happened and reaching for that morning hangover beer. Rapturous in their portrayal of youth and energy, Hold Tight! captures what it means to be young, punk and having fun. 

A troubled mind bursting with confusion is conveyed in Hold Tight!’s words as they expresses their woes against growing up, society and the changing faces around them. “I'd call myself an artist, but truth is I just need to complain. Cause I hate growing up, and I just can't handle change. Please don't change,” rant the two vocalists of the band in a call and response style, showing the importance and skilled use of dynamics in the band. 

The song “Power Converter” strongly juts out from the rest as its tom heavy filled intro forcefully takes hold of the listener, like a bully on the school yard, then lets go as the band goes into top speed. As if escaping this monstrous beast of a riff, then sadly falling back into its clutches, the band revisits the intro but with a more fluid cymbal based backbeat.  Bratty, childlike, yet clever, lyrics are tauntingly sang at the beginning and end of the song, “ Teacher said I'm wasting my potential, but I can only potentially be me,” as a giant middle finger slowly goes up in the middle of class.

If you are growing up, have a short attention span and have a love for catchy melodies, then this release is for you. If you are looking for something groundbreaking, earth shattering and life changing, this might not be for you. However, it is a solid melodic punk release that shows potential in a very young band.


Rating: 3/5

Owl Paws

   The youthful lamb within the flock, curled up and afraid, waiting to be found. In a dark scene filled with the unrelenting sounds of screeching guitars and maniacal yells, this is Owl Paws. Their pristine twangy guitars laid over rich acoustic progressions, steady backbeats, and angelic vocal harmonies are the warm hug waiting for you after the show by said maniac. Their folk indie musings bring to mind great acoustic acts such as City and Colour, Bright Eyes, early Spill Canvas and Neutral Milk Hotel. With their new self titled release, Owl Paws chips away at a local scene sculpted by toughness to reveal the soft and warm underbelly.

While Owl Paws stick with the more traditional rock instruments throughout the album, sparse helloes of less traditional instruments weave in and out, appearing at precise moments as if their number had just been called in the waiting room. Xylophone’s tip toe on top of steel strings in “Party Johnson”, horns keep the melancholy party going in the outro of “Reluctant” and violins drop tears in the ballad “Eyes Of The Prey.” What’s even better is they rock the upright bass, a little used instrument outside of certain genres, generally not this one. 

Themes of love, life meaning and the hardships of being a musician in an increasingly relentless world conduct the beautiful symphony of melodies heard on the album. Love is a multi dimensional thing and Singer/songwriter Derek Schultz covers almost all bases; fear, heartbreak, late nights and the unspoken feelings we all encounter as we make eye contact with that special someone. In “Sleepless and Hollow” Schultz desperately moans “Both hands on my sides/the chalk lines are still white/I’m the kind of liar you want to listen to/I’ll never be the one to break the bad news,” showing his warm heartedness that breaks through on many of the tracks. 

Schultz and lead guitarist/back up vocalist Colin Hayes match vocal harmonies to a key and sound much like a fusion of a clearer higher pitched Conner Oberst and a weaker Dallas Green. Where Hayes really shines is on his shimmering lead progressions, more specifically the beginning of “Vultures” which invites the listener into a poppy dance number that embeds itself in the listeners mind, returning to you as you conduct your day. Backed by the steady movement of drummer Tyler Akers dancing around his cymbals like a bobble head on the top of your cars dashboard and bassist Tim Vickers revving the songs engine, “Vultures” draws listeners from their chair and onto the dance floor.  Akers and Vickers provide a strong rhythm section, steadily swaying throughout the album providing nothing too flashy, but constant, creating excellent dynamics. 

Recorded at Schultz’s home, The Complex SF and mixed by Sam Pura of Panda Studios the quality of the album comes out well for a semi DIY recording. My only complaint is the drums sound a bit flat, possibly to accompany the fat, low tones of the upright bass, but nevertheless could have been raised a bit. A more varied song structure wouldn’t hurt either, the soothing, swaying sounds heard on the album are great but a step outside of these borders would really be saying something for the band. Other than these minor flaws Owl Paws delivers a very solid debut EP, leaving listeners entranced and craving more.

Rating: 3.7/5