EP Review: Cardboard Box Colony – Cardboard Box Colony EP

“Given the circumstances in the world, this EP was truly a labor of love and dedication” says TJ Burns, guitarist with Asheville, NC’s skate-punk quintet Cardboard Box Colony. “We started recording in March, but quickly made the decision to put everything on hold,” adds the band’s other guitarist Austin Burgess. “When we returned to the studio, we ended up completely rewriting one of our songs with more relevant lyrics pertaining to the pandemic and current state of affairs.”

Despite the stop-start nature in creating the EP, there’s a convincing cohesiveness coursing through the 4 tracks on this debut offer. From the initial peals of opener ‘Bedtime Stories’, all the requisite hallmarks of the genre are present – it’s tight, brisk and direct with tempo changes that allow for rising choruses, and guitar lines that entwine with each other and the nasally intonation of the vocals – and it’s fine stuff, crisply captured at Asheville’s own Clean Sheets Studio and mastered by Jason Livermore at the famous Blasting Room in Fort Collins, CO.

With the standard set, the rest of the record follows suit. The exasperated eyeroll of ‘Pathetic’ – “I’ve never seen you more pathetic, but please don’t take that as a challenge..” – begs a sing along, and previous single ‘Headstone’ flaunts an initially harder edge; a solemn pact: “I don’t care and I don’t mind if you ruin my life, or drag mine down with yours..” Rounding out the EP is new single ‘What’s The Point in Revolution if We’re Gonna Die?’ (check out the video HERE), which pulses with social substance – “disinformation clouded reality” and “the spike in the trend line” present a bleak outlook, but ultimately the band retain optimism: “hate cannot destroy the way we communicate..”, reflecting the overall sentiment of the EP. “It’s short. It’s fast. It’s ill-tempered, but ultimately hopeful. It is everything we are.” Burns summarises.

Like accomplished, melodi-punk with a sincere slant? Cardboard Box Colony is available through Stimulus Package Records either digitally or on black splatter vinyl. The band has Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages to follow.