Released back in August, “Glitter on My” is Soccer Tees’ second EP, and it’s currently making its way across the airwaves via WKNC. In addition, the band is headlining WKNC’s Fridays on the Lawn on Friday. With an emo/garage punk power punch, “Glitter on My” is a release to be reckoned with, and it’s no shock that it found its place in the hearts of your local DJs.
Sporting six tracks, the EP is average in length, but makes the most of its time. In so many words, its sound is raw and powerful, if a bit standard. The instrument lineup consists of the classic DIY-punk trio: lead guitar, rhythm guitar/vocals and drums. The lead guitar is easily the most interesting instrumentation of the album, utilizing infectious riffs to capture the listener while establishing the primary melody of each song. It utilizes light distortion and echo to create that longing, grungy sound that the genre is accustomed to. Despite this, it still manages to bring the energy and rush of a good solo when the time comes. The track “Aftertaste ” in particular has a wonderfully catchy riff and pulls a modest but entrancing solo. In a genre where lead guitar is often treated as a distraction, Soccer Tees stands out in their recognition of it as a device capable of creating greater depth and enjoyment in their songs.
The vocals on “Glitter on My” are fairly standard, featuring harsh but not intense main vocals for most of the tracks and some metalcore-reminiscent screaming for accentuation on later tracks. The main vocals are not particularly groundbreaking or unique, but they do their job and are enjoyable to listen to. On the other hand, the screaming may be the greatest detraction on the EP. While the issue is not the overall use of screaming itself, it is not properly utilized on the tracks on which it appears. It is slightly off-tempo, off-key and jarring, creating a level of dissonance that does not make sense for the portion of the song it appears in. It’s not bad per se, but it could be cleaned up and done better.
The drums are very similar to the vocals — not outstanding, but appreciable. It should be noted that the importance of a good percussionist is very high for songs in the emo/punk genre. Any song that should be driving or emotional will have a great degree of trouble achieving the desired effect if the drummer is off-tempo, rushing or dragging. When the percussion is properly executed, it should always be appreciated, as is the case with the drumming on “Glitter on My.” The songs are just as driving as they should be, just as powerful as they should be, and just as on time as they should be. Keeping that all in place is a painful and often thankless job that deserves some attention from time to time.
Outside of this, the percussion, and thereby rhythm, isn’t particularly noteworthy. The songs aren’t too rhythmically complex and the song structure is about average for this genre. But, in an era where punk is proclaimed as dead, there’s a lot to be said for a band that’s doing its best to bring it back, let alone successfully. Not to mention that Soccer Tees has also managed to put its own spin on an otherwise uniform genre, in addition to just being downright enjoyable. “Glitter on My” isn’t flashy or outstanding, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s got just enough shine to be worth your while.
