Reviews

Long Island is the undisputed mecca of music - it's the East Coast equivalent to the West Coast's overabundance of fake actresses and faker singers, but the stuff that comes from our side of the nation actually rocks. That little known Island grew for us such A-list acts like Glassjaw, Taking Back Sunday, Brand New and Bayside and it rarely lets us down (forget Ashanti and Lindsay Lohan). Add Magnetic North to its roster of bands on the rise. This relatively unknown quintet combines an experimental mix of screamo and dance rock with a surplus of double voice over vocals and the occasional gut-wrenching yell.

Page Turners for Book Burners is a five-song EP that has four really good songs and one okay song that you could probably skip - that song is "Aquanet Riot Act." The song is too sugary sweet for the rest of the album. Don't let its heavy riff start up fool you - the rest of the track sounds like a Bowling For Soup song and its name sounds like one too. This track could be good because its chorus is catchy but it stops the flow of the rest of the album. And somehow the 1700's reference doesn't mesh with the 1980's reference.

The delivery of the rest of the album is infectious and has a deep saturation of riffage, anthemic vocals and the right amount of 1983 synthesizer. The title track, "Page Turners For Book Burners," opens up the album with pop-punk style riff that blends hard rock drumming and some kind of echo background vocal that makes you wonder what the hell you're getting yourself into with this EP. That echo goes away and is soon replaced by a frenzy filled scream that is spine chilling and tops off the beat driven flow of the track.

"Only As Directed" is the best song on the EP. It starts off with assailing punch of metal core vocals that lead into a melodic verse but it never fails and gives a chorus that packs a powerful punch. This isn't a regular tapping your foot song, it's a song that will make you want to stretch out your hand and pull out the hair of the person sitting next to you.

"One Breath Removed From Death" has some emo tendencies but the vocals and music shine. The last track, "Means To An End," provides listeners with paired screamo vocals and harmonious parts. There's also a hint of synthesizer but it's well balanced. The entire song builds up to the end when the guitar work lets up into a series of rapid riffs.

The entire album leans towards glammed up space rock, it's experimental yet it works...and we know Long Island won't let us down.