Boy, I think I’m supposed to like this, but it’s just not clicking. Both bands are English and play swelling melodic punk, the likes of North Lincoln, Small Brown Bike, and early period Hot Water Music. Mercury Lounge: add some metallic guitars into the equation, and they remind me of Strung Out and second-tier Fat stuff from the late ‘90s. It seems heartfelt, but sounds too closely tied to a metronome and a click track for me to hear juice bursting when it gets squeezed. The Dauntless Elite: have a great name, have songs with many parts—one with a very long title—and seem very earnest, too, but I’m just getting bored listening to the record. It feels too labored. I’m convinced they’re convinced, but I’m just not interested. Comes in a heavy gauge plastic sleeve.
–todd (Yo-Yo)