The Product – Break The Silence

When I first started this web site, one of the first record labels I worked with was Tooth & Nail Records and all their sister labels like BEC Recordings and Solid State Records. It wasn’t a Christian connection or anything, just more so the fact that they just happened to be one of the first labels I reached out to for some reason. As I listen to The Product‘s new EP, released on Alternative Addiction Music, I can’t help but travel back in time six years ago to when I was listening to Tooth & Nail Records stuff constantly because that’s exactly what this EP sounds like.

Now, this isn’t along the same lines as the major T&N bands; so no, it’s not another hardcore band like Underoath or Norma Jean nor is it a pop-punk gold mine like MXPX. Hell, it’s not a Christian band either; instead, Break The Silence takes a trip down the ultra polished pop-punk/pop-rock lane that Tooth & Nail occasional dabbled in with the likes of Thousand Foot Krutch, FM Static, Hawk Nelsonand Side Walk Slam (although Side Walk Slam is most definitely a lot more pop-punk than The Product).

It starts off with the title track and immediately gives you an idea of what to expect. Very polished guitar hooks come at you, cleaned up but with just enough of a bite to keep your interest and gain some traction on modern rock radio stations. The vocals come in and they are catchy and memorable, nicely sheened like Trevor McNevan of Thousand Foot Krutch and FM Static and with enough of a hook to get the songs stuck in your mind after only a few listens. It’s a friendly rock anthem with some impressive guitar work, an upbeat (albeit slightly slow) modern rock tempo and rather impressive vocals and the rest ofBreak The Silence follows in the same pattern.

A few songs have a bit more of a bit to them, like I’ll Be There For You and Better Off This Way which has a slightly darker vocal delivery to them (only slightly though). It is, from front to back, an enjoyable pop-rock album with catchy anthems that fans of Anberlin and, again, Thousand Foot Krutch will have no problem enjoying. The EP does suffer from the occasional lack of ingenuity but always quickly recovers to create a catchy modern rock single all the while serving as a nice reminder of some of the bands that I covered way back in the day; and for that, I thank them.