Save Ends – Hug Your Friends EP

Boston five piece Save Ends latest release is the Hug Your Friends EP, this is the kind of mellow pop punk that is the perfect soundtrack to watching the sun come up after you’ve been out all day, which happens to be a happy coincidence as I’m sitting writing this at six o’clock in the morning nursing a coffee and a cigarette.

The aspect of this EP that really stands out for me is the dual male and female vocals which compliment each other, and the songs, perfectly and make this release stand out from the rest of the pop punk crowd. Hug Your Friends is an engaging listen, it starts out slowly and builds up the tempo over the four tracks that make up this impressive release before all to suddenly it comes to an abrupt end. From the keyboard led build up of I Fell Asleep through to the strong closing track Sam’s Lament it’s clear a lot of thought has gone into the structure of this EP. It takes you on an all too short journey and I’ll admit to feeling a bit put out that after about 13 minutes it was all over.

This represents something of a shift in style from the bands previous releases, but change isn’t always a bad thing and in this case it certainly isn’t. This is well crafted melodic pop punk, whilst there isn’t a stand out track on this EP that’s more of a compliment to the four songs that make up Hug Your Friends rather than a criticism. If they can make an album as consistent and enjoyable as this EP then that would be something to treasure.