EP REVIEW: neverland [CHAPTER II] – Since 2000
There is a certain poetry in a young Glaswegian-born band naming their projects after Peter Pan’s island of perpetual youth, particularly when their music feels caught between the safety of adolescence and the pull of the tumultuous world we navigate. SINCE 2000 have added a second instalment to their record series with neverland [CHAPTER II], a seven-track collection stuffed with enough ambition for a double LP, like a child wearing clothes too big for it that they hope to grow into. Vocalist Dan Romano frames it as their “darkest, heaviest and most impactful body of work so far”, and a conclusion to a coming-of-age story about trauma, identity and healing. That weighty thematic scaffolding is admirable, but the record itself is a jumble of brilliant instincts and borrowed clothes, suggesting a quartet with enormous potential who haven’t quite decided who they are.
The identity problem runs deep, and it’s unfortunately impossible to ignore. Across these seven songs, SINCE 2000 wear their influences so brazenly that the seams gape open. The ghost of BRING ME THE HORIZON looms everywhere, from the glitchy, theatrical ad-libs in SHUDDERING (including a sonically baffling “hi kids!” thrown after the first chorus) even to the way the track titles stylise themselves with lowercases and capital letters. BAD OMENS are also an unmistakable touchstone in the sheen of the polished production and synths. Wearing your heroes on your sleeve isn’t a sin, and so many more established bands still fall victim to it, but the mimicry overwhelms the band’s own emerging voice. Running from my crimes is a microcosm of this struggle: the instrumentation hits with heavy, explosive wallops, and the breakdown into the bridge is a superb layering of distorted vocals and sharp guitar riffs by Scott Abel, but the lyrics veer into cringe territory with lines like “when I talk to the killer inside of me, I see myself through his POV, oh.” The melody shifts so restlessly between sections that it feels less like dynamic writing and more like impatience. When the song does commit to a strong idea, in particular the chorus, it’s thrilling, but it rarely lingers long enough to let the emotion of the track breathe.
Vocally, Dan possesses a vibrato-less, clean delivery that can sometimes feel oddly distant to the lyrical content. There is a lack of real hunger or vulnerability, and it drives a longing for the veneer to crack and have something messier spill out. The screams, whilst excellent and genuinely commanding, are deployed so sparingly and at such jarring moments that they can feel like afterthoughts, stitched in for credibility from the listeners with heavier palettes, rather than integrated into the songs’ emotional arcs. Nosferatu shows what’s possible when the extremes sit closer together, its clean-to-scream transitions needing a tad more ferocity but still showcasing a vocal range that would be undeniably impressive played live to a packed venue.
What keeps the EP afloat is the sublime production and moments when SINCE 2000 lean into their electronic undercurrent. The synths on Nosferatu have a PERIPHERY-adjacent sparkle that finally sounds like the band’s own DNA breaking through the surface. This is the direction that makes sense for them: seamlessly fusing digital atmospherics with punishing riffs. The undisputed highlight of the EP, lost_BOYS, fully realises that vision. Its production is unique and enchanting, building a chilling, massive breakdown that feels grown-up and cohesive. For once, the lyrics and vocal intensity match the weight of the instrumentation – it’s a track that could hold its own against far more established acts, and it’s proof that when SINCE 2000 stop trying to be everything and everyone all at once, they can be genuinely powerful.
Collaboration also points them in a promising direction. HELLelujah!, featuring LO RAYS, picks up the pace with danceable, gothic energy, with her feminine vocals offering a perfect counterbalance to the stomp. The song has the spiteful, theatrical swagger of early SET IT OFF, and its mosh-ready breakdown closes the deal. Notably, both of these high points arrive in the back half, just before the underwhelming finale FALLout. Possibly intended as a haunting epilogue, the track is burdened by its own patience: the build-up is so slow that verses and choruses become indistinguishable, and the lyrics slip back into cliché just when the EP needs its most profound moment. It’s an overly long, ponderous ending that drains the momentum rather than providing the catharsis the narrative demands.
Flow is a wider issue – seven songs are already a stretch, and the sequencing doesn’t help. The atmospheric [prologue II] layers electronics nicely and hints at a core sound, but it frustratingly refuses to track into the next song, missing an easy opportunity to stitch the EP together. From there, the collection of tracks lurch from hyperactive genre pastiches, to brooding metalcore drones, to a slow-motion epilogue, without a real sense of journey.
All of the above being said, underneath the messy curation and the occasional lyric that makes you wince, SINCE 2000 are palpably talented. Their production is polished beyond their years, the imagery around the Peter Pan concept is genuinely evocative – it’s clear that when their own sonic fingerprint breaks through, the future shimmers. The band need to stop chasing the coattails of their idols and start nurturing their own strange, synth-and-scream magic. There is a version of SINCE 2000 that doesn’t sound like a tribute act, and neverland [CHAPTER II], for all its stumbles, offers just enough glimpses to believe they can find it – it’s time for them to leave the shadow boys behind.
Rating: 7/10
neverland [CHAPTER II] is out now via Easy Life Records.
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