Bayside / Name Taken

Dying Wish records has released a split containing what this label sees as “two of the hottest up-and-coming bands in the indie punk scene.” These two bands are Bayside and Name Taken. I have to be honest, after listening to the split a few times; I have to say I was not overly impressed. Both bands seemed to have very similar style and vocals, making it hard to find a distinguishing factor for each band.

Bayside holds the first four tracks on the CD. This Long Island band has was formed in October of 2000, and to this day after several line up changes, only contains one of its original members. Perhaps because of the constant line up changes, Bayside has had a hard time perfecting their sound. Their sound was very raw, and not overproduced at all, in fact it may even sound under produced.

As far as their lyrics go, Bayside reminds me a lot of Saves the Day. They have an upbeat tempo but sing pseudo-dark lyrics about love gone wrong. Their second track, Cold and Blue and Lifeless, talks bout tearing out a heart and choking someone until they are cold a blue and lifeless. This style gets old quickly. However, there are some impressive guitar riffs in this track that are worthy of praise.

In comparison to their album Long Stories Short, it seems as though Bayside is taking a step in the right direction. However, this split has not converted me.

The last four tracks are Name Taken. Name taken formally known as All That’s Left, are natives of Orange County California. While they sound extremely close to Bayside, they seem to mesh a little better on this split, and have a little more distinction to their sound. However, the vocals of both bands sound extremely similar.

My comparison of Name Taken would be made to that of the late Student Rick. The two seem to share very similar song styles. I would have to say that the Name Taken tracks seemed to catch my ear more so than the Bayside tracks. “You Do It So Well” is my favorite track from the disc, displaying the strongest guitar and drumming.
If you are not familiar with either band, I would not necessarily recommend running out and buying this album. If you are a fan, I would pick it up, and form your own opinion. However, I think this split shows that there is a future for both bands, and hopefully we will be seeing some impressive new material soon.