2nd April 2021

Review: “Failures Vol: 1” by My Latest Failure

There is something to be said for going the whole hog and showing a little respect. So with that in mind, we’ve decided to venture back into 11th January 2019 and ink a review for the debut EP “Failures Vol: 1” by London Hardcore injected Punk trio My Latest Failure. Why? Well later this month “Failures Vol: 2” will be banging on your ear drums and giving you earache with all it’s catchy, shout-a-long lyrics of catharsis and riffs a plenty. If that’s not enough, it’s also something of a celebration as the EP sees physical release for the first time today with a pair of bonus tracks!

Guitarist and vocalist Chris Underhill, Bassist and Vocals Andy Hale and drummer Jamie Boyle recorded “Failures Vol: 1” with Sore Teeth guitarist and vocalist Ross Walker, who also handled mixing duties and no doubt it did them a few favors having someone of experience in the same Terror meets Sum 41 style of Hardcore Punk as the trio have made their own. My Latest Failure weren’t necessarily born from the ashes of a previous band but Underhill and Hale had both been in Hardcore outfit Under Dead Stars and formed the fiery act in August 2017 before being joined by Boyle in September the following year.

Gang chants and gruff vocals from both Underhill and Hale, whose vocal tones play off well against each other in the mix stand out from opener “Lies“, a tale of a the end of a relationship due to a lairs tongue and that pain you get when you know you only have yourself to blame. An insightfully catchy Hardcore Punk track that doesn’t lean too heavily on those Pop-Punk influences and isn’t a soppy “I want you back” but a “I’ve f***ed it up“, it’s a gem of a tune and a fine place to start any EP. “Story Of The Year” then roars out of the gate, turning everything up to 10 with meatier riffs and a vendetta against 2016 that was s*** year and still grates the gears with fist pumping attitude. Musically it reminds of material on 1995’s “Insomniac” by Green Day, short, fast and catchy with a sharp metallic edge and that styling bleeds into “Our Latest Failures“, a socially aware number that orientates around the repeated line “We were the damaged youth, For a doomed generation, They don’t care about us” and could be raised at plenty of politicians out there. My Latest Failure would subsequently ink single “Selfish” which is an equally Politically driven without naming any names number that points the finger and asks the question. Saving the solo until last and “Leech“, which is the lyrical opposite of “Lies“, the realization that you’ve been lied to in a relationship that wonders how the ex-partner can sleep at night. Getting a certain extra something out of the vocals with a scream to close a rampaging short fast cut like this is spot on and will do wonders for the live show. We need more failure in our lives [8/10]