ESC Life – Born To Be Mild LP (PDV Records)

It’s been a long time since I’ve listened to something like this. ESC Life are coming from Zagreb, Croatia and they’re playing something in between Descendents, Jawbreaker, Superchunk and similar bands who gained popularity during the 90s. Actually, this album is a great soundtrack if you’re in your mid-30s and you want to remember how good music was back then when you were a teenager. Born To Be Mild LP is a second album by the ESC Life and it’s a pretty much continuation of their debut Access All Areas, but it’s more melodic, more emotive and it’s a perfect album for any occasion. What’s really good about ESC Life is their ability to transform the atmosphere from plain punk rock to much more proto-grunge sound, so you can hear some similarities with Husker Du or perhaps The Replacements as well, which is a positive critic by the way. Guitars are banging all the way through on every single tune and they’re following amazing work of the rhythm section. Probably the only  minus of the ESC Life is almost the same tempo on each track, but if you don’t mind some mid-tempos all the way through, you’ll simply fall in love with Born To Be Mild which is an amazing guide book how to stay young in heart when you step up into adulthood and when daily routine becomes your reality. Born To Be Mild comes with a great artwork which is done by punk rock illustrator Lovro Škiljić, so please spend some time and check out this skillful artist. This LP is available directly at PDV Records bandcamp page or at various records stores and distros all over Europe. Keep in mind that you’re supporting the band by purchasing this gem, so don’t be lazy to spend some cash on some amazing punk rock music.