Reviews

The opening track begins with a very modern, soon-to-be-cliché (if not by now) electronic and auto-tune buildup. The track kicks in as expected, power-popping along like every other pop punk band today that’s just discovered that one half step below drop D is drop C#. While this isn’t a necessarily a bad thing it doesn’t differentiate them as much as I think they were hoping. The track in itself is powerful, catchy, and contains just enough lyrical cheese for a sing along without being abrasive.

“Destroying Something Beautiful” comes in with some pretty heavy palm muting that triggers my confusion. This track isn’t a huge departure from the previous, and it is one of my favorites on the disc, but the next track, “Secrets,” is where I was really left scratching my head. It is so clearly a cut-and-dry pop-punk song that at this point, if someone were asking me how I would classify Hollywood Lies,I would be at a loss for words. From here, the last two tracks are even heavier than before, further adding to the confusion. “E.A.S.T” sounds very similar to Alexisonfire from the “Crisis” era.

The closing track (which is also the title track) has all the elements of an exodus, and for this I applaud them. I’ll go out on a limb and assume this is the track they use to close their live shows as well because it has a very chant-able chorus (“This is a murder scene, this is a murder scene”) and lengthy bridge to build up to the anthemic finish.

“This Is A Murder Scene” is a very respectable release, however it leaves me questioning the bands direction. They clearly have the song writing and musical ability, but this EP just doesn’t leave me satisfied. I would have liked to see them narrow down their style a further. Regardless, they have made some good decisions in the past and this leaves them in a great position to learn and grow.