"Family Fortunes", the first song on UK act Radicus' The Bigger Noise, indicates a strange scenario. Think a more aggressive Patrick Stump fronting a fast, hardcore-influenced melodic skatepunk band. This is essentially what Radicus set up here on this EP, aside from their frontman's looser, gravelly shouts of sorts. In this, they sort of recall the questionable practice of a band like the Fully Down, who bizarrely combined modern emo tendencies with metallic skatepunk influenced by the likes of A Wilhelm Scream and Propagandhi. But Radicus' focus lies more on speed than technicality, and it keeps this EP moving along.

Hold on. It gets weirder. Is that Alexisonfire's George Petit guesting on the majority of "O Dejay God"? No, I don't think so, but there are moments it sounds exactly like him. So is The Bigger Noise some sort of weird karaoke skatepunk album? Well, maybe not, since "My Legacy (The History to Come)" doesn't discernibly sound like yet another lead singer from some American band.

So how is the actual EP despite these weird early nuances? It's okay. One can appreciate the full-throttle energy the band exude on cuts like the aforementioned "My Legacy (The History to Come)", "The Spark II" and "2 Legit 2 Quit". But that quavering, Stump-y yell doesn't seem to gel with the music all that well, and there certainly aren't many hooks to hold onto ("The Spark II" offers a reprieve from that with a repetitive gang-shouted melody that's worth a hum along). Not much grabs me in the second half until the beginning of closer "Let Them Try!", and that's because it kinda bites the intro of "Holly Hox Forget Me Nots".

The Bigger Noise is competent and tightly played, but doesn't do much that's new or at least exciting. Its parts that do try some different don't connect together in the most sensible way, either.

STREAM
Family Fortunes
O Deejay God