When it was happening, the emo/indie thing of the 2000s was divisive among young music fans. Proverbial lines were drawn as brand loyalty and east-coast-west-coast type feuds took place in high school cafeterias and college dorms while we pledged allegiance to Brand New or Taking Back Sunday, Thursday or Hawthorne Heights. The winds of trend have since cleared the smoke of cringe-worthy veiled misogyny and half-empty Dashboard Confessionals, leaving behind a legacy of incredible albums that have stood the test of time; the albums I've played to absolute death, of which there could, sadly, never be another. Camp Trash might be the solution.
Blood Makes Noise had an advance listen to Camp Trash's debut EP "Downtiming," bringing back a lot of memories of the above-mentioned stage of my youth (sans the cringe and embarrassment). This is a lean, slick production of four indie rock bangers, starting with the warm, bouncy guitar intro of "Bobby" and ending with their standout single "Weird Carolina." I won't bullshit you: the sound itself is derivative, but it's a sound informed by STWHA-era Get Up Kids and SWYA-era Saves The Day, perhaps leaving the more pop-punk stuff out of the mix, and pulling it off because I believe this is who they actually are. Camp Trash lean hard on well-crafted, natural sounding pop hooks and straightforward songwriting to make this EP easy to listen to over and over again.
So, yes, while the sound is familiar, it's not the 2000s sound of a mall Hot Topic; this is the cool band you found in your beer-soaked fraternity basement one night, singing the songs you wish you wrote. Florida indie rockers Camp Trash are releasing their debut EP "Downtiming" via Count Your Lucky Stars January 22nd.
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- Eddie Templeton, BMN Contributor