Album/EP

Afterthought – Full Circle (EP Review)

Walladmin

Heavy Metal Wordsmith

Aug 16, 2018

7 min read

Afterthought – Full Circle EP
Released: August 17th 2018

Lineup

Mackenzie Day - vocals
Tadhg Richards - guitar
Luke Richards - drums
Marty Cornford - bass
Ryan Thomas - guitar

Online

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Everyone loves the feeling of discovering a new band. Something that's just started and is small enough that not everyone's heard of them so you can still gain the superiority of "liking them before they were cool". Well! Ladies and Gentlemen, I have your next discovery, but be warned; these boys won't be small for long.

Introducing Afterthought with their debut ep Full Circle. A five track project filled with inoffensive wholesome pop punk guaranteed to fit well in everyone's collection of local favorites. Full Circle is everything you want in a pop punk project ; a classic Fall Out Boy sound coupled with the lyrical tone of early All Time Low. It's clear these guys are incredibly talented and aren't afraid to wear their influences on their sleeve. The EP comes complete with a rough charm that just screams potential in a way only a debut can really achieve and its with that excitement that we jump right into the opening track 'Good Omens'.

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'Good Omens' sets an upbeat tone for the entire ep. I will be honest though, this track is kind of the weakest of the five; It's the only real time where you can really tell that the band haven't been doing this for too long. In fairness, the boys themselves are actually quite young and 1 out of 5 is better than most so it's definitely not a deterrent. 'Good Omens' is immediately overshadowed by the absolute banger that is 'Capsize'.

'Capsize' is the perfect combination of danceable guitar riffs, a well crafted hook and a fantastic showcase of the vocal talents of frontman Mackenzie Day. The track was a perfect choice for a single and has a chorus so catchy that for weeks after it’s release everyone was unconsciously humming it. Swiftly following is the other single of the EP '28'; another well-chosen single but for surprisingly different reasons. 'Capsize' is rather reminiscent of old mainstream pop punk ala NFG or early All Time Low whereas '28' is incredibly reminiscent of what you'll hear coming out of the Australian pop punk scene, which is probably a big sign that you're about to see them support a lot of your favourite local acts.

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=3579266806 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small track=3495374483]

The EP wraps up with 'Faded Lights' and 'Sadness In Colour'; the former, an homage to early Fall Out Boy, the latter, a gorgeous ballad like track that perfectly displays the band's songwriting abilities. Both incredibly strong additions to the body of work and a really good way to round out the EP.

Overall each track of Full Circle really give you something different so it's hard to tell where Afterthought will go next, but every road holds an incredibly bright future and I'm excited to see these guys inevitably blow up in the very near future. I strongly recommend you don't sleep on this band!