rationale. - Confines (EP Review)

Dan Lambton (Real Friends), Joe Taylor (Knuckle Puck), and Ryan Rumchaks (Knuckle Puck) formed rational. as a project described as just making music with friends because they love hanging out. Lambton and Taylor handle vocals, guitar, and everything else aside from the drums which were done by Rumchaks. Side-projects like this are always interesting and when you take members from bands that are currently dominating their scene it makes it an even more interesting project. Both Real Friends and Knuckle Puck has released pretty well received debut pop/punk albums in the last couple of years and both albums have gotten a lot of interest from listeners and the blogosphere. I was pretty excited to hear what the team-up would sound like since I'm a fan of both bands.

The EP itself is possibly a little more emo leaning than the members full-time bands. but the EP isn't much of a stretch in sound from either Real Friends or Knuckle Puck. Both Lampton and Taylor's vocals instantly remind you of their bands. It's neat to hear how their vocals play-off each other at times on the EP. It creates a really nice dynamic. I could easily see the band performing a couple of the songs or using this as opening band on a Real Friends/Knuckle Puck tour. Lyrically Lampton, at times, might sound slightly more comfortable over the music than he did on a few of the Real Friends songs on their last album. That might be due to him writing more of his lyrics on the EP (Kyle Fasel handles the lyrics duty for Real Friends) or possibly even writing the music to fit his style a little better.

I really enjoy the sound the band was able to capture. Ace Enders (The Early November) mixed this project and I think the way he did this helped add a lot of atmosphere to the songs, which is something I think he often times accomplishes with releases he works on. It makes the songs feel like they're being played in an old, hollow house with the loud and the soft parts of the songs having plenty of room to breathe and flow together nicely. The drums sound much better on this EP than they did on the most recent Knuckle Puck album. The EP has a quaint vibe that I think fits this time of the year perfectly. It has an emotionally resonating sound and feel. It's just four songs long and it's pretty much all killer no filler as I'm enjoying all four songs and find that they're all high quality. "Hangnail" is a standout. It captures the overall vibe of the EP pretty well if you're wanting a song to just check out to see if you'll like the EP. I really enjoy the intro vocals and guitar on the closer track "Quarter Life". I also really enjoy the lyrics on the song.

Overall this is a side-project EP, but honestly the song writing and performance feels top notch and it sounds like all involved really wanted to write some really good songs. This nearly competes with the their full time bands. Some of Lampton's vocal performances on this EP are the best I've heard from him in a couple years. More than a couple songs capture that classic Real Friends feeling I had when I first heard "Home For Fall". This is easily one of the better emo/pop/punk EPs I've heard this year. With Real Friends on an in-between year for albums and Knuckle Puck releasing a solid album this year it's a solid treat for listeners who are hungry for a little more from these artists. I think this will please fans of the bands, but on top of that if you aren't a fan of either band then this might be something you can enjoy because the sound and dynamic of some of these songs are slightly different. I'd highly recommend this one; I'm really enjoying it.