EP Review: Answers – Cardinal Bay

Answers is the second EP from British Post-Hardcore band CARDINAL BAY. With the UK rock scene being crammed with younger bands this EP see’s CARDINAL BAY trying to step up to the next level.

From the very first moment of opening song Answers it’s clear CARDINAL BAY have taken a lot of inspiration from fellow British rockers Mallory Knox. The song blends soft guitars and soaring melodies with fairly good results and throw in a few screams for good measure. Out of Sight is more aggressive with a faster riff and bigger focus on the screamed vocals. #Shotgun has a bit more stomp to it but still follows a similar template to the first two songs with its large chorus being the centrepiece of the song.

By this point it will have become very clear that CARDINAL BAY have made no attempt to reinvent the wheel which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, they stick to a formula they know works. Sadly this means the EP just ends up sounding uninspired. None of the five songs are bad but all feel like something that’s been done before and in most cases done better. It also results in the EP sounding quite dated, if this had come out in 2011 then it would have sounded a lot more exciting but it just doesn’t cut it in 2016.

There’s certainly stuff to like about the EP, vocalist Josh Rogers delivers and impressive performance and there’s some good riffs throughout. However the songs never amount to anything more than decent as I t all just lacks it’s own identity. This is something CARDINAL BAY can work on in future releases and they do show potential here.

Answers ends up being a solid but unremarkable EP, it certainly won’t offend anyone but also won’t blow them away. As mentioned earlier the UK rock scene is incredibly crowded and Answers just doesn’t stand out enough and ends up just feeling too safe. Still some fans of Warped Tour style post-hardcore might want to keep an eye on CARDINAL BAY as there is a chance they could deliver something great in the future. But right now this EP just isn’t quite good enough.

Rating: 5/10

Answers is out now

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