O Pioneers!!! / The Measure [SA]

This split 7" has two bands differentiating well in styles. The Measure [SA] play a poppy Pogues-style punk with female vocals and O Pioneers!!! play folk-punk withjust a two-man lineup. It's interesting, but I found myself liking both sides of the 7".

O Pioneers!!! are first with their brand of two-man, gritty folk-punk. This side is a lot more raw and has less prduction value. They only have one song but it's a damn good one. "The Sad Pony Rides Again" starts off with an addicting guitar riff that is implemented thoughout. The song is exremely good and stands out as one of my favorites by the band. The two members shout along in the song and you may find yourself doing the same thing after several listens.

The Measure [SA] are on the flipside with three. I must admit, i have not heard of this band previously so I checked out some of their earlier material and enjoyed it. There is a difference, though. It is strictly female vocals; there are no male vocals, backup or lead, as with their earlier material. This doesn't interfere with the quality of the songs at all, though. The quick "Countdown" is a bouncy song with melody throughout. It shows definite improvement over their earlier material, but the second song is just a bunch of "ooh"s and "ahh"s, barely making it an actual song and kind of a waste. "The Sum of All Things" is a similar to the first song, with the same bounciness and contrasting cynical vocals. It does seem like the song has been written before but i guess that's just a sign of good songwriting (as long as the song is good, which it is).

Overall this is a solid release with some damn good songs on it. Even though O Pioneers!!! only had one song, i found it to be better than the Measure [SA]'s side. It is a lot more epic, not just being a standard pop-punk affair. I do not mean to belittle the Measure [SA] at all, it's just that my personal tastes lean towards the O Pioneers!!!'s side. Both have their negatives, with the Measure wasting space with their secod song and the Pioneers' outright lack of a second song, but it is what it is and it's definitely a solid release.