Hey look, it's the bastard child of Stretch Armstrong and Grade! As weird of a mix as that may seem, that's what I got out of this EP. The Young And The Useless are a 5 piece out of Florida that play a positive brand of generally mid-tempo hardcore.

I generally liked this EP, but I have few gripes:

1.There is absolutely no excuse for any band at any time to ever cover "Anyway You Want It" by Journey. It's not funny, it's not creative, it wasn't a good song to begin with, let it die, please! Every time I hear a band cover this song, I want to reach through the speakers, grab the singer by the throat, and scream "no!" in his face.

2.Singing on this type of album is ok, but not when your squeaky, high-pitched, out of key voice sounds like the mating call for some sort of rare marsupial.

3.These songs could be a little bit shorter. Four minutes is pretty long for this type of song, three minutes should be the cut off point. I'm not criticizing the band for trying something new, but I think some kinks need to be worked out.

With all that being said, The Young And The Useless have put out an EP that is very good, especially for a newer band. The vocals bare a striking resemblance to those of Stretch Armstrong. The music is very melodic and even almost poppy at times, but it's done with enough creativity and enough of an edge that it still sounds good. The lyrics, just like Stretch Armstrong's, are generally positive and easy to relate to. "There's a constant struggle between my flesh and my spirit, I'm searching for the things I think I need to be happy. There is nothing I hate more than the feeling I get when I know I missed an opportunity for something great. If this next year goes as fast as the last five than we better start taking advantage of our time." are the lyrics the EP starts out with, and they generally remain reflective throughout the entire disc.

If you like positive hardcore and you're looking for something slightly out of the ordinary, you should pick this up. The Young And The Useless need to focus their energy a little more on future releases, but their past two(this and "A Smile Is No Good For Me")are a good place to start.

This Hole Is Only Getting Bigger MP3