Bandage – Build LP (Keep It A Secret Records / No Reason Records / Lockjaw Records)

If you ever listened to a modern melodic punk rock music, you’re probably aware it’s nearly impossible to miss these guys, because of their highly addictive music which somehow every time crawls under the skin. Bandage is unstoppable punk rock machine hailing from Athens, Greece with a couple of impressive releases such as Bandage EP which has been published upon their formation in 2010, then these guys managed to publish another EP called A Glitch In A Hive sometime in 2013. and just a year later the band have released their brilliant debut full-length album called North By Northeast, which acclaimed some positive critics and brought them recognition in underground punk rock circles.

Build LP is their second offering to the wider audiences and pretty much a continuation of North By Northeast, but with even better production. Unlike North By Northeast, the band teamed up with Jay Maas (former of Defeater), instead of Paul Miner (former of CleanX, Death By Stereo, Kill The Messenger, A18…etc.) who mixed and mastered their previous album. Jay Mass delivered even brighter, cleaner production, with more focus on the guitars, but somehow all the instruments including vocals are hearable equally. Jay also paid a lot of attention to the drumming section, so each beat is separated, polished till perfection and hearable as the rest of the involved instruments. Initially, the band is killing it right with the first beats of an overture track. The guitar arrangements are divine, melodic and greatly separated, so you can hear melancholic guitars on one speaker and the powerful riffage on the other.

Everything is supported by the brilliant rhythm section comprised of warm sounding basslines which are the part of the foundations of the Bandage, including the amazing drumming skills showcased on the presented material. It’s no wonder why the Bandage kept their ideas under the key for almost five years because these tunes are smartly composed to satisfy even the pickiest punk rockers. The band holds to all the fundamentals of skatepunk, but this time with even more involvement of similar genres such as pop-punk or perhaps post-hardcore. One thing is for sure, Bandage is here to stay and nothing can stop them on their way to write a magnificent melodic punk rock album which will fit to all the generations. The band paid a lot of attention to all the details, so the cover artwork is not an excuse either and besides a standard record sleeve comprised of some fine landscape photography, the band has put a lot of info and band member photos on the inner cover as well. Build LP has been published in collaboration between Keep It A Secret Records, Lockjaw Records, and No Reason Records, so there’s plenty of options for you to grab this skatepunk masterpiece.