Review: “Failures Vol: 2” by My Latest Failure

London Hardcore injected Punk trio My Latest Failure have been treading the boards since August 2017 and being inspired by Hardcore Punk and influenced by Pop Punk they provided us with sing-a-long shouty choruses and punchy verses with their debut EP “Failures Vol: 1“. That was January 2019 when Chris Underhill (Guitar/Vocals), Andy Hale (Bass/Vocals) and Jamie Boyle (Drums) had the help of Sore Teeth vocalist and guitarist Ross Walker in the recording and mixing department. Since then they haven’t looked back, releasing a duo of impressive stand alone singles in “Selfish” and “Disappointment” while racking up the Underground shows with the likes of Weaponry, Death Warrant and Sunfall, not afraid to share a stage with heavier bands of different genres.

What do you do during a Global Pandemic? If you’re My Latest Failure you get your self together and put out a sophomore EP produced by Charlie Wilson and Saujan Rai at Monolith Studios in London. You make is short, fast, loud and catchy, rammed full of cathartic lyrics to vent your spleen to and to get a crowd going when you can eventually play the songs live. “Self Reflection” gets us going with 41 seconds of looking in the mirror and the single line I hate myself!, which the band are going to have to play twice back to back live with some joke about the audience missing it before giving them the chance to get their two step on once again. The Asthmatics and older generation will thank them for the brevity and it’s a classic Hardcore Punk tune so you can’t go wrong. The gruff shouted old school punk vocals over the Pop Punk riffs of “It’s complicated” has us thinking of some bastard hybrid of the Sex Pistols and Sum 41 but it’s not without it’s message. What is love? It’s complicated. Too damn right and this one has a certain melancholic and mournful quality to it, like your lover just confessed to owing more than the national debut of Zimbabwe on credit cards. Sure you’re still in love, but it’s complicated. Fortunately the adrenaline fueled riffs and instant hook make you want to move and that pick slide…

…You know it’s time to seek therapy when you’re thinking about pulling the trigger to cure the itch that the “Voices” put inside your head and with this catchy sing-a-long ditty that everyone can enjoy, it’s like Russian Roulette, the failure being that you forgot to put the bullet in the revolver. It has an infectious downbeat quality that you can’t get out of your head and that’s what we all want to hear. “Demons” follows similar lyrical concepts of introspection with a middle finger raised to everyone who hasn’t lifted a finger to help. After all, if you want something done right, do it yourself. The screamed backing vocals are a moment of tongue in cheek humor that some people might not get but if you’ve been at the depths, you’ll get it. What’s great about it is that the music isn’t over polished, the rough around the edges feel about it suits the gruff vocals and lyrical themes perfectly and if these songs don’t get stuck in your head after the first listen then you’d better call the Doctor. There is something wrong with you [8/10]

Track listing

1. Self Reflection
2. It’s Complicated 
3. Voices
4. Demons

“Failures Vol: 2” by My Latest Failure is out 30th April 2021 and is available over at bandcamp.