Mind Gap
Driven by Movement EP
Mind Gap are a Chichester based ska/punk band formed originally as part of a college course. With influences from local, national, and international bands, the overall feel is combination of all the punk sub-genres with a bit of revival, ska, and skate punk evident at various points.
There are actually nine tracks listed on the inlay card and 8 tracks on the CD, which means that either two songs have joined together somewhere or one is missing. ‘Pierre’ (which may well be the kidney-sharing Siamese twin of ‘Intro’) has a great two-tone verse with guitars that emulate the exact sound of the era as created by legends of ska-revival, such as The Specials. The chorus is a bit heavier and more along the lines of contemporary pop-punk.
Second track, ‘Zilch’, emits the bounce and vocal style of early Greenday, with a breakdown and solo that could easily have featured on ‘The Young and The Hopeless’ from Good Charlotte.
The first big-hook appears in ‘Elvarado’, which has a great riff up front that inserts itself throughout the song, like a recurring character. A little more care over the chorus could see this track becoming the Mind Gap anthem.
‘Black and Blue’ is from the same mould as ‘Pierre’ with syncopated ska guitar in the verse and a heavy chorus before the heaviest tune of the disk appears in the form of ‘Falling Back’, which has some similarity to American rockers Papa Roach. ‘Feel Me’ mixes the heaviness of ‘Falling Back’ with a couple of ska moments before things get back to the more predictable structure of ‘Movement’.
All of the tracks are about the right length, although some of the solo’s could be candidates for removal, such as in ‘Elvarado’ where it adds nothing to the song, or ‘Zilch’ where it interrupts the flow.
Final track ‘Outro’ is a bit of easy-listening number with wah-wah guitar and ambient noise. It’s one of those tunes that rounds off the album in manner completely different to the rest of the record and, in a way, is irrelevant to the sound of Mind Gap.
The stand out needle-sharp point to make on this album is the sheer range and plethora of influences, which all pop their heads above the parapet at some point during the record.
With so many influences apparent, the overall effect can go one of two ways; either the total anonymity of the band’s own songs or a great melting pot of sound. This record has songs that fall into both categories, with ‘Zilch’, ‘Black and Blue’, and ‘Feel Me’ being the better of the two buckets.
Written by Smith on
