Transit

It's impressive when you hear an EP by a relatively uncharted band and it comes across as a focused and fully realized tribute to their genre. While this Boston, MA quintet have been releasing music since 2007, it feels like the Stay Home EP could be the recording that propels this band to the forefront of the scene. This record borrows from the best of punk and hardcore over the past two decades. The gruff yet melodic vocals hint at Lifetime worship, while the choruses have the emotional impact of late '90s Vagrant Records. The song structures and musicianship secure Transit's seat amongst the league of current brainy punk and hardcore innovators like Polar Bear Club and Bridge and Tunnel. The record opens with the title track, boasting a double-time punk beat that erupts into a catchy, urgent verse built for yelling along. The song soon becomes spacious and epic, with a breakdown and group vocal chant driving the song to its conclusion. A near-perfect EP begs the question of what the band have in store for their inevitable full-length release. Stay Home is an accomplishment, and with the right support the only inevitability is a bigger audience next time around.