Reviews

This debut release from Harbour 81 starts off with a blistering instrumental which gives anyone listening an immediate idea as to what this band is capable of. On "So Much I Can Take," the power of vocalist Perry Seleski and the blinding intensity of drummer Jordy Datema help to elevate Harbour 81 above others in their particular field. This band seems to have lifted a page from the book of Suicide Machines and have put their own twist on it by slowing down some of the melodies and riffs and allowing the vocals to be heard clearly in the mix, which is quite refreshing.

The fact that a lot of their material sounds like late ‘90's Green Day and the Offspring is interesting but it's hard to hear some of the newer influences in the sound. As a result of the record being so incredibly short - 23 minutes - it's hard for the band to make a huge lasting impression because everything is so swift and quick.

The vocals of Perry Seleski, particularly on "Break Down the Walls," show the power he has as well as his ability to carry and deliver every song like it's the greatest song the band has ever written, which is something very difficult for a vocalist to do.

In the end, because of the limitations of this genre, Harbour 81 have done the best with what they have and have managed to do very well with it. However, the scratching at the beginning of "Don't Act Up" doesn't seem to fit and seems like it was just thrown in there for the hell of it. The vocals, both Perry's and the backing vocals on "Always Tonight," make up for this mistake and help create probably the best song on the record. Overall, this record is good and promising and it'll be interesting to see what they come up with next.