Woodale – Finish What You Start

I wasn’t sure what to expect with Woodale‘s Finish What You Start. It was a new label, a new band, and a very weird cover – all of which gave zero indication of what to expect. But once Finish What You Start started playing, I instantly knew what I was getting. The steady guitar riff that starts off Here along with the perfectly polished vocals immediately told me I’d be getting a radio friendly pop-punk album – something familiar and friendly which, in turn, is both the saving grace and the drawback of the album.

Anyone who has a weak spot for well crafted pop-punk will find twenty minutes of enjoyable music on here. With a mix between Yellowcard, Anberlin and Something Corporate – but a little more radio friendly than all of them – Woodale are able to keep the pop obsessed listener entertained. The sound is crisp and clean as they have are driven by either a upbeat piano melody or steady guitar riff and is constantly supported by a violin harmony threaded through the back combining with the polished vocals.

There’s definite skill throughout it all, it’s well written, well produced mellow pop-punk; but at the same time, it tends to lean towards the very safe side and never really takes any extra steps to define a unique sound for themselves. The music they play is all well and good, but without a solid identity, Woodale – and Finish Where You Start – is ultimately forgettable. There tends to be no risks as the band never takes a step out of the boundaries and try to reach for something slightly new. The same structure is there with every song and the lyrics, while catchy, never really break into your memory bank or grab you either. It all adds up to something safe and secure, but who likes safe and secure all the time? Sometimes we just need a bad boy to save us from it all.

At just five songs and twenty minutes long, Finish What You Start is a solid EP. It doesn’t leave you wanting more and doesn’t drag on either, just a short little chuck of radio friendly, extremely polished, pop-punk. It makes you wonder if you’ll be able to survive a full length though, because I’m fairly certain that forty minutes to an hour could start to drag if they don’t hurry up and find something unique to add to their sound by the time they next enter the studio.