Album Review: Old Soul 45's by Almost People

Almost People are a band I've had my eye on since discovering them thanks to their superb song Bored With Booze a couple of years ago. In March the three piece from Durham, North Carolina, released a brand new three song EP titled Old Soul 45's which looks at having to make sacrifices to do the things that you love.

Title track Old Soul 45's opens up the EP. This is an extremely endearing melodic pop punk track. Lead singer Jonny's vocals immediately stand out and welcome you into the EP. They quickly have you wanting to sing along to this song which is about selling your old records to help keep a relationship going. The song feels like one that would get such a passionate sing-along response from a crowd due to the way the vocals are delivered along with the catchy lyrics and big hooks.

Up next is The Apologies. This may be a bit of a niche reference but I really enjoyed the title of this track given the similarity in sound to really, really early Apologies, I Have None. The chorus is one that you will pick up from the start. It's catchy and the use of gang vocals give it a huge sound that must work so well live. The track is over four minutes long, which is probably a bit longer than your average pop punk song, but it doesn't ever feel like it's dragging due to its many sing-along moments, a nice guitar solo midway and some tempo and key changes.

The final track on the EP in named Sore Throat Blues. Almost People slow things down slightly on this much more emotional song to finish Old Soul 45's. Vocally things sound a bit toned down which brings the overall sound of the track down. It has quite a melancholic feel. There are moments when you think that things are going to pick up but this doesn't happen. The song would probably fall more under the emo umbrella of punk rock, making me think a bit of Saves The Day – which is lovely.

This is a great but short release from Almost People. Definitely a great introduction to the band if you weren't familiar before but also a nice progression for long time fans of the band. Almost People are a band with a huge upside who I imagine will gain more and more fans as the year goes on.

Stream and download Old Soul 45's here: https://almostpeople.bandcamp.com/

Like Almost People here: http://www.facebook.com/almostpeople

This review was written by Colin Clark.