Review of 'Mind Of My Own' by Punktastic.com
Upon first inspection, the Northern Irish punk sounds of Mellow Dramatic seem nothing more than a convoluted mess of melody disguising itself as a skate punk CD in very shoddy wrapping. But in time, you learn to ignore the flat vocals and laid back style and find a certain harmless charm which doesn�t exactly make you want to �fuck shit up� but does help admire the EP they�ve created. Seven tracks feature, clocking in at the ten minute mark with the emphasis clearly on the �get the song started, and get it finished� mould of song writing and arranging. This works rather well on some of the more impressive tracks such as the pacy and melodic �Mind of my own� but not so well on the dull and blatant filler �Gamble�.

The problem with the CD though it just seems so laid back. The vocals are clear and crisp enough, but for a band attempting to showcase bursts of energy and melody through their musical style, the vocals often end up taking the song down a notch or two through sheer laziness, which often doesn�t suit the style of song being played. It isn�t all doom and gloom though as the excellent �Guilty� has an admirable gritty style to it and is a nice nod to eighties punk, while the longest track (The End) also proves the most complex with more thought being put into the style with the pace changes working particularly well. If more attention was paid to tracks such as this instead of the shorter, snappier tracks, the EP might prove a little more filling instead of leaving the listener with an empty stomach. The right idea is there, but for the moment a little more thought on the execution could do wonders for the trio.

Jay
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