The Flaws In Everything (Lp)

Description

From its beginnings as an acoustic solo project in 2012, Boca Raton, Florida's Northbound has evolved and grown into a hybrid entity of equal parts solo act and fully fleshed-out band. Jonathon Fraser, the creative soul of Northbound, has a distinctive writing style that is integral to the band's cohesiveness amongst the evolution. With nothing but an acoustic guitar and his voice, he pours his energy into the lyrics and vocals. The rest of the band then joins him to flesh out the songs in the studio. This hybrid approach allows Fraser to seamlessly tailor each song to its individual story while staying firmly seated in the context of the whole. Northbound's lyrics dance around the human experience, and lend themselves extraordinarily well to the bands brand of unkempt pop-punk. Fraser writes about existential uncertainty, self-awareness, and growing older with an emotional maturity that sets Northbound apart from the genre's usual tropes.

Description

From its beginnings as an acoustic solo project in 2012, Boca Raton, Florida's Northbound has evolved and grown into a hybrid entity of equal parts solo act and fully fleshed-out band. Jonathon Fraser, the creative soul of Northbound, has a distinctive writing style that is integral to the band's cohesiveness amongst the evolution. With nothing but an acoustic guitar and his voice, he pours his energy into the lyrics and vocals. The rest of the band then joins him to flesh out the songs in the studio. This hybrid approach allows Fraser to seamlessly tailor each song to its individual story while staying firmly seated in the context of the whole. Northbound's lyrics dance around the human experience, and lend themselves extraordinarily well to the bands brand of unkempt pop-punk. Fraser writes about existential uncertainty, self-awareness, and growing older with an emotional maturity that sets Northbound apart from the genre's usual tropes. After several impressively prolific years, releasing an EP or full-length every year since 2012, Northbound has enlisted to help of Rick King (Hit The Lights, July) to ready their latest effort. The resulting five song EP, titled The Flaws In Everything, has a darker, more driving feel than 2015's Death of a Slug. This is a move reinforced by enormous, guitar-led choruses and offset by a plethora of catchy vocal hooks. The EP is also the first release with creative input from three other musicians: Cody Badgley on bass, John Looze on guitar, and Ma] Horner on drums. It also marks the first release in which Fraser and Looze did not perform everything themselves. Fraser's openness to this type of collaboration is undoubtedly part of what keeps Northbound fresh and ahead of the curve. At its most intense moments - third track "Well Water," for example - The Flaws in Everything's grit is sure to please fans of Citizen and Balance & Composure. When Northbound dives into their poppier side, like on "Fade To Black" and "Tell Me Something Good," however, they easily compare to bands like The Starting Line, Into It. Over It, and Motion City Soundtrack. The balance between these two extremes is not only a fitting reflection of the band itself, but it's also what makes Northbound a standout act and stands to push them through the static and into the spotlight.