EP Review: Trophy Jump – Haphazard

8Croatian punk rock quartet Trophy Jump originally formed in Zagreb during the summer of 2014 as a part of the JeboTon Collective, the band are now set to reveal their brand new EP, Haphazard, that can be pre-ordered on CD and digital formats from Horn & Hoof Records in the UK. Haphazard will also be available through JeboTon in Croatia and Punk & Disorderly Records in North America. 

The opening track, Comfort Zone, is an anthem encouraging you to get out of that space, it’s delivered with a sound that’s influenced by the power pop and punk rock of the mid to late 70s, but it carries an energy and zip that is present throughout the Haphazard EP. Initially it appears that the five tracks on the EP are a flashback to punks pub rock origins, but by the time you get to Chicago Kid you notice that Trophy Jump aren’t just revivalists, this is an original collection of tracks that delivers punk rock from a unique perspective, one that effortlessly bridges the gap between punk’s roots through to the likes of Rancid and NOFX.

Had the Haphazard EP been released in the 1970’s it would have had an obvious home on Stiff Records, had it been released in the 1990’s then it would have been snapped up by Fat Wreck Chords, however it’s now 2019 and Haphazard is an EP that would equally be at home on any label and wouldn’t seem out of place at any point in punks history. Haphazard is an EP that somehow manages to squeeze over four decades of punk influences into five tracks, which is an achievement on it’s own. If you couple this with the fact that that every track stands out in it’s own right, then what Trophy Jump have delivered is a stunning EP whose title is a contradiction, as nothing this good happens by chance.

Haphazard, that can be pre-ordered on CD and digital formats from Horn & Hoof Records here

Trophy Jump and Horn & Hoof Records can be found on Facebook here and here respectively.