EP Review: Victory Lane – Barebones

Victory Lane are a UK quartet who are working hard to make their name in the overcrowded pop punk scene, since the release of their debut EP “Louder Than Words” they have been traversing the UK’s motorways with bands such as WSTR, For The Win, Woes, In Her Own Words, Homebound and many more. Now they’ve been back in the studio with Romesh Dodangoda at the helm and have released their sophomore EP “Barebones” via Standby Records.

“Just Personal” is the opening track and it sounds immediately familiar, this is because Victory Lane is a road that leads directly to pop punk central, there are echoes of every of pretty much every pop punk band that you loved from the nineties to now, all the breakdowns, catchy riffs and lovelorn vocals are present and correct in what amounts to a pop punk overdose. Each track delivers a sense of deja vu, from the upbeat “Life Past 98“, lead single “Happy Sad“, the bouncy “Creative Control‘ and the predictably heartfelt finale “Firing Line“, where I can practically sense the heat from a myriad of raised lighters.

For fans of vintage Blink-182, Bowling For Soup, New Found Glory, Sum 41, Sugarcult, Good Charlotte and even the likes of Busted and McFly this will probably become a treasured EP, but whereas the majority of bands that informed the pop punk scene had some bite Victory Lane‘s emphasis is firmly on the pop side of things with the punk being an afterthought. If you love pop music that is served with a side order of punk then this will probably make your year, but for me it’s all a little sugary and predictable. Victory Lane probably be incredibly popular, they aren’t going to change anyone’s lives but it might just trigger some fond memories of the summer of 2019 when it crops up on shuffle.

Barebones can be purchased via Standby Records here