REASON TO LEAVE edge of a knife

REASON TO LEAVE

Edge Of A Knife

Horn & Hoof (14/07/23)

Skate-punk maestros Reason To Leave drop a sub-two minute melodic banger with new single Edge Of A Knife. The second offering from their upcoming summer EP finds the RTL boys once again mining the catchy end of 90s punk rock for inspiration, but injecting more than enough of their own personality into the affair to produce a killer single full of sharp hooks.

Fizzing guitar opens the show, rallying at full pelt against double-time drums with a rising riff that slips into a melodic turnaround before circling back on itself. The slinky bass grooves away neatly behind the beat, adding a counterpoint to the thrash of the guitars and the racing rhythms.  Vocalist Mike Erb joins the party as guitars pull back to staccato stabs, leaving space for a clean and melodic delivery that rails against the confines and contentment of modern life. 

It’s 100mph across the chorus, with a neat pause on the song’s titular lyric that mirrors the delicate balance between the life choices Mike sings about and the all or nothing feel of the song’s instrumentation. 

This being punk with a hardcore influence, we are duly treated to a breakdown that delivers pounding tom fills underneath a heavier take on the verse riff. However, instead of dropping to half-time, the band play it straight with a full throttle tempo that blasts back through a chorus  and is aided by neat backing vocals that guide the song home.

So, it’s another cracking release from the hardest working skate-punk crew in the north-west - can’t wait for the rest of the EP!

Judge for yourself: https://reasontoleave.bandcamp.com