Single Review – Protected Left / The Shortlife – Split EP

California’s Protected Left and Michigan’s The Shortlife have got together to release a Split EP that is now available on cassette and digital formats via Bandcamp. The split EP follows the familiar format for these things, as it features two songs from each band, one a brand new track and the other being the almost obligatory cover of one of each others songs, and there’s also a bonus track from Protected Left hidden on the EP, if you get the Split via their Bandcamp that is.

We all love a Split EP and they’ve become a staple of the DIY punk scene, on this one we get two melodic hardcore bands who both bring different approaches to the genre. First up are Protected Left, their opener, Absolution, is a slice of earnest and furious technical melodic hardcore with some metal tinged breakneck guitar riffs and breakdowns, this is followed by their cover of The Shortlife‘s Give This To Kevin, which they seem to have made all their own. The bonus track, SMH, is only available via Protected Life‘s Bandcamp, and it’s another example of their no nonsense style, although the marked volume drop indicates this an earlier recording.

The Shortlife are very much brothers from another mother, they are borne of the same scene although their approach to delivering melodic hardcore is a much rawer affair, both on their original track, Something Stoic, and their cover of Protected Life‘s My Worst Nightmare, that again has been twisted to the band’s own style. For me the joy of Split EP’s like this where the band’s are well matched is that you get a two for one deal on discovering something new, and if you’re a fan of the grass roots melodic hardcore scene then this Split EP provides a showcase for two band’s who are more than worthy of your attention. The Split EP can be streamed and downloaded via Protected Left‘s Bandcamp here and The Shortlife‘s Bandcamp here

The Protected Left‘s website can be found here and The Shortlife‘s Facebook page can be found here