Archers And Arrows – s/t

Punkrock and hardcore is music best done in times of peril and conflict. Situations where something is at stake. So it might not be that surprising that Switzerland doesn’t have a really thriving punkscene, or not one that I know of. C’mon, the country has never chosen sides in a war, knows how to keep their bank accounts going and how to keep their mountains white with snow. The place pretty much is a safe haven for people who want to avoid conflicts.

Enter Archers And Arrows, a band that already made it to Swiss national radio and played shows with Agnostic Front, Latterman and The Get Up Kids. After listening to their self titled EP I come to the conclusion the Swiss hardcore scene might be even more non-existent, otherwise why would someone put Archers And Arrows on the same show as Agnostic Front? Now The Get Up Kids make far more sense to me.

Archers And Arrows kind of sound like a mid 90’s Doghouse band blending pop punk with a more DC emoish sound. There are also hints to Face To Face and NoFX. And I must say with the first rays of sun shining in the backyard and a good book on my lap this EP is the perfect soundtrack. I could do without the screamo vocals on some of the songs as they don’t really add much to the music but besides that Archers And Arrows have made a record I can easily enjoy.

The big question is: will this band hold up outside their neutral country? Can they deal with the unavoidable turmoil that is part of getting you band ‘out there’? Archers And Arrows isn’t a household name like UK’s Basement or US’ Make Do And Mend. On this EP they show they have the musical capabilities to gain some recognition in the rest of Europe and it’s up to the band to show how far their ambition will take them.

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