LATE NITE WARS – “Who Is Going To Miss You If You Go?”
After an early CDEP and two ear-catching 7″s, Massachusetts’ LATE NITE WARS have assembled a full-length of mostly new material for Panic Records (two of the three songs on the 7″ It’s Okay or Even Worse reappear, and the song “Dragon The Anchor” is from their debut S/T EP). Although rapid-fire pop-punk is the band’s focal point, the group is just as at home incorporating bits of 90s emo and flashes of LIFETIME influenced melodic hardcore. It would take little effort to write these guys off as doing nothing new, and I admit that the contemporary similarities to rising-stars TRANSIT and FOUR YEAR STRONG are a bit stunning, but there’s always a welcome spot in my heart for bands that pull off this grocery bag of styles with skill and earnest charm. An album highlight comes early on the second track “FMLOL” (hold the rolling eyes…), which breaks off the gate with blitzing speed and roaring guitars that’d make the early-mentioned Jersey band blush in pride, and in just a shade under two minutes. LATE NITE WARS actually make smart use of having two guitarists as most songs feature strong leads over a solid rhythm backbone. The leads coil around vocals hooks for convincing effect and busy bass work makes its presence known as well. Extra points are earned on the easy-to-relate song “Work Isn’t Working” with its lyrics about self-medicating the 9-5 through coffee (did that in a data entry job 12 years ago – felt like I was shaking for ten weeks straight), and the heavier, mid-paced rocker “Bones”, which confirms the smart sequencing of the album; and for those searching for another tour anthem, the group dishes out the catchy “Bored in Backseats Beats Bored In Board Meetings”. Hard to find fault with anything on Who Is Going To Miss You…, it’s inviting, pulse-racing and fulfilling in all the right places.
