Tyler Vesely | Feburary 12, 2015

Carleton on guitar and vocals, Andrew Eichinger on guitar, Ken Taylor on drums, Adam Shoji on bass, and Ryan Locke on vocals, recently released their debut EP for Pure Noise Records, All In My Head. The four songs that make up this EP are some of the best pop punk songs I’ve ever heard. Many of the new pop punk bands have lost the concept of the genre, but Seaway are doing a great job of sticking to the roots.

 

“Your Best Friend” is the EP’s first track, and it’s also the only song from the release that has an accompanying music video. From the beginning of the song, the sound clearly indicates that the rest of the EP is going to be fun. “Your Best Friend” has a nice drum that fills the sound, followed by a guitar with an upbeat rhythm that keeps up throughout the song. The lyrics, which talk about a trivial relationship, are pretty cliche, but what else do you expect from pop punk? Locke’s vocals are nice and raw, which is how pop punk should be. This song makes me feel like my friends and I should be having a few beers, enjoying each other’s company, while singing this song at the top of our lungs.

 

Second in line, but not second best, is “Alberta.” Changing up the tempo from the previous song, this track starts off with a soft guitar intro which harmonizes with soft vocals. But it doesn’t stay soft; soon enough, the drums roll in, and the snare picks the tempo up. Again, this song’s lyrics are borderline cliche, but Locke’s vocals are still raw, and they harmonize well with the changing tempos.

 

“The Let Down” is the catchiest on the EP. The chorus repeats the lines “It’s all the same if you feel the same/But we’ll never change.” After listening to it a few times, it becomes one of those songs that just gets stuck in your head. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, because if you like the song as much as I do, then you’ll want to sing it all day anyway. This track reminds me of early Blink-182, but Locke’s vocals distinguish this song as their own.

 

“If I Came Back For You” is my favorite song on this release. It starts off with clean, simple guitar, followed by raw vocals. The vocals are shown off when Locke sings “And it’s my fault/My fault that I waited/My fault I was faded/When I knew you.” They took a step back with the tempo on this one, which is nice, because overall it makes this song more intimate than the others.

 

This EP is awesome; there’s just no other way to say it. All In My Head is definitely a must-listen, so you should check it out as soon as possible. The band is currently on tour with Bayside, Senses Fail, and Man Overboard, so check and see if they’re coming your way.