Short version: LESS THAN JAKE through a FOUR YEAR STRONG filter. It’s a short, three song EP. There’s the usual quibbles. The horns could be in the front of the mix and the guitars could not sound like the came out of Glamour Kills’ ass, but whatever. WE ARE THE UNION is young and there’s something reassuring about the burst of energy and declaration of “I will fight the good fight and I’ll fight it my own way” that is lent authenticity by the “straight out of skatepunk” drumbeat. If you like THE SWELLERS, then you should feel immediately at home, from the first moment in “We Don’t Care If Yesterday Burns, Stoke Up the Fire” to the comparison clinching moment in “Five Out Of Five Kids Who Kill Like Slayer” when the singer Reed Michael belts out “I don’t need bloodstains on my hands to make me feel like a man.” I connect on a musical level and lyrical level and right now, that’s what I want.