The Ergs!/Lemuria Split

A split seven inch between two of pop punk's most beloved bands; New Jersey's The Ergs! and New York's Lemuria. Both bands have made a pretty big splash in the pop punk scene, so it's no wonder these two have a split together. The Ergs! play something like a mix of the Ramones, Descendents, and some Black Flag for good measure. It's a wonderful combination of influences. Lemuria are a female fronted pop punk band with a tinge of indie rock thrown in for good measure.

The split opens with the Ergs!, who use their song "Introducing Morrissey" as their lead off. It's a very catchy, fast-paced pop punk song. Jeff's guitar has an interesting tone throughout the intro/chorus, and Mike's drumming is spot on as always. Joey's bass is a little low in the mix; it's not terrible sounding, but, he is a very talented bassist and it should be mixed in better. Mike's vocals are something to marvel over; at multiple points in the song his voice cracks and at other points it's the most perfect voice you've ever heard. Their second song is a cover of "Hey Jealousy". The band puts a lot of feeling into this song, it's a very respectable cover that actually rivals the Gin Blossoms' original version. The solo towards the middle really shows off the talent that all the band members have. The Ergs! side is a great example of why they are one of the greatest modern pop punks.

The Lemuria side starts with "Little Silver Children". It's a noisy pop punk tune with dual vocals by Alex and Sheena, however, the vocals don't have much energy, they seem to be lacking in effort. The sound of the instruments is a little rough too, though you can plainly hear what each members is doing. Lemuria's second song, "Clean", is a far superior song. It starts with a bass line that reminds me of Big Black, and when Sheena's vocals kick in, you can tell you're in for a treat. The track has much more energy than the previous, with Sheena's vocals having a lot more energy. It's a really good pop punk tune.

Split albums are an iffy thing for bands; one side may completely out shine the other, or both bands may suck. With this split though, both are talented bands. And while both play pop punk, there's enough diversity between the two to keep the record sounding interesting. It's a nice show case of what proper pop punk bands can do.

7/10

http://www.amazon.com/The-Ergs-Lemuria-Split-7/dp/B0013UXKR6

It's out of print from Art Of The Underground, however, a digital copy is only about $4 from Amazon.