Album Review

Colt 45 – Inside The Triangle

• 16th Oct 2012

Inside The Triangle sees the return of the Cumbria-based 3 piece, Colt 45. Having released their Chasing Yesterday EP last year (which can be downloaded for free at wearecolt45.bandcamp.com), this EP sees the boys keeping their familiar sound of melodic punk rock, but giving it a slightly more mature feeling.

The record opens with “Think For Yourself…Question Authority”, an instrumental track at just under 2 minutes long. It lets the music speak for itself, and is a dutiful introduction before the infectious riff of “Everybody Will Let You Down”. A song about accepting the distrust and depressions of life, it shows the qualities of the band and why they have such a strong following.

“Happiness Is A Dying Art” is a straight up pop punk anthem, working with the sad lyrics on top of happy music equation. Its chorus is bigger than the song, and will be stuck in your head log after the song finishes. And, while most pop punk songs can be thrown in a pile due to similarity in structure, Colt 45 have brought originality in their subtlety.

This is followed by the ballad “I’m Drowning, Not Waving”. As the title suggests, this is not going to be a happy song. “I don’t believe in luck / You get what you deserve” shows Neil Harper’s pessimistic view on life, which is only reintroduced during the songs repetitive and unenthusiastically sung chorus. Yet he and the band hit home, with what is the most powerful song from the release.

EP closer “Brick Wall” is absolute punk. It brings some old school Sum 41 vibes with its aggressive lyrical content and rasping instrumentals. The closing riff comes in waves, slow bass changes swiftly to raging guitar and drum.

Inside The Triangle is not quite short and sweet – it’s short and punk. Bringing with it what we know Colt 45 are capable of, it has built from last years release. The 3 boys can be proud of this EP. It is bound to keep fans, old and new alike, keen until we see a full-length release.