The Weeds - Roots/Routes (EP Review)

I listened to The Weeds new EP Roots/Routes a few times before I began jotting down my initial thoughts about the EP. I wanted to try not to compare this group to Transit (Joe Lacy, the guitarist’s old band) or Late Night Wars (John Hadley drums for both groups). After a few listens more and more things stuck out about it. This EP is a really solid release.  Joe Lacy will probably be tied to Transit in some way for the rest of his musical career. However, I think it's fair to say that The Weeds have created an EP that will help him define a new musical path. Another thing to point out is that in my opinion Roots/Routes is probably a stronger release than the latest Transit album and probably stronger than Misser's new EP (Misser features a current Transit member).

After the first few listens I couldn't help but compare the overall sound of the group to Name Taken or the earlier material by The Early November. It has a nice melodic rock vibe and vocally I really like the EP a lot. Like those groups you can also hear some pop/punk influence in the music.

Especially on tracks like "Attention." It also has the aspects of emo rock that those groups had as well. This EP makes me wish more bands could write gripping songs like this. It's instantly accessible, but it has some really nice layering in the music that you can hear some of the complexity in the songwriting after a few listens. The trade off of male and female vocals fits the songs nicely and adds a lot.

So many songs stand out on this release. The EP is basically anchored half by the male vocal performances and half by the female vocal performances. I think both singers do a great job. The first song on the EP "Sunset Eyes" is probably my favorite song on the EP. It is one track that instantly reminds me of Name Taken and The Early November. "Death Valley" is great and the female vocals almost remind me of Ashlee Costello on the earlier New Years Day stuff.

The group sound really tight throughout the entire EP and I think production and mixing wise the EP comes out really nicely. It definitely at times reminds me of the bands mentioned above and that's honestly a big compliment or I wouldn't want to say it. The band also finds a nice way of presenting that sound for the current musical climate in 2013 without it sounding dated. It comes out sounding very fresh. This is an EP I would highly suggest checking out. I went into this not knowing what to expect and came out really pleased. It's six really well written songs and I wouldn't be surprised if this EP stuck out as a genre favorite to a lot of people this year.

You can purchase a copy of The Weeds new EP on limited edition vinyl: HERE.