The Gammits MWMembers of the Yellow Press
Teetering on the Edge of Destruction
(2003)
Reviewed by James McCormick
Am I the only one who loves split albums and wishes more bands would do them? I get to see two bands give it their all, half and half, and sometimes it becomes a competition of sorts. With the Big Action Records release Teetering on the Edge of Destruction, we see two bands splitting the music this time. The Gammits MW and Members of the Yellow Press. I'll judge it separately and give an overall score of sorts.
The Gammits MW start off this split (which is something of a misnomer, as they take up about 65% of the disc) with good old school, purposeful punk. The purpose is to get you off your ass and just enjoy the music. Jake Witter's vocals are killer while the rest of the band (Leif Barsness on drums, Angela Salvo on guitars and Ian Lambert on bass) support him to keep the 12 tracks blistering throughout. Makes you wonder how long they've been playing with one another, as it meshes so well. 8.5 out of 10 for their set.
The next band only has 7 songs on this split. Members of the Yellow Press come in on their own way, not punk music like the former tracks before them, but going for a more garage rock feel with muddled guitars and airy vocals. Not a bad thing whatsoever. Some parts sound like a psychotic stage show gone wrong ("Blink & Breathe") while others sound as if the song was written underwater ("Causes"). I'd like to hear more by them, but they didn't hook me in as well as The Gammits MW did. 7.0 out of 10 for them.
I always round upwards because I'm a nice guy. So as a whole, the split gets an 8 out of 10. Go to Big Action Records to check out some other cool bands as well.
