EP Review: COMEBACK KID Trouble

Comeback Kid‘s Wake the Dead is marked in my memory as one of first forays into two-stepping punk and hardcore as an angry kid, so they have a piece of prime punk real estate in my nostalgic heart. When the first line of vocals, “Conquer the world, take it by any means!”, hit my ears, I knew immediately I was in love with this band all over again, just like I was in 2005.

The feeling I got when I heard the first minute of “Trouble In The Winner’s Circle” is a very specific one, so take my hand and jump in with me for a second. If you want out after hearing the first track, then get out and never come back (!). Picture this: you’ve had an annoying Chicago winter, not as hard as the ones past but still just as depressing, and you’ve been fighting like hell for every ounce of happiness and motivation.

The biting cold and sharp wind has pissed you off every time you stepped outside for the last four to five months, but all of the sudden, late February and March starts delivering BEAUTIFUL ass days. We’re talking 60s and sunshine, the midwesterners are in swim trunks drinking on patios. Stoked doesn’t even begin to describe it, you’re rising from the dead. This high-on-life mood can only be topped by finding hype new releases to kick you over the edge into a moment of pure bliss – then you hear the new Comeback Kid EP TROUBLE. The sun is here to stay.

For a band like Comeback Kid, who have been around the modern punk/hardcore block and back again with a vocalist change in between, highs and lows are expected. It’s easy to become a band that just relies on their legendary name to drive sales, we see it time and again with bands who just won’t quit while they’re ahead. Although, imagine your name being Comeback Kid and not being able to “comeback” hard constantly. Luckily this band always returns with fierce talent. With 2022’s Heavy Steps and this upcoming EP TROUBLE, Comeback Kid seems to have a hard time NOT producing bangers. 

“Trouble In The Winners Circle” kicks in with one of the most punk-charged, hyped-up riffs I’ve heard in the last few years. In another world I am a WWE heartthrob and this is my walkout song. The two minute mark in this single gives us what we all crave but only sometimes admit, a good ass group vocal clapping moment. The music video is as fun as I expected for a song like this, with the band performing in a bright blue literal fish bowl as the crowd bets on winners in a bar brawl.

Second and third tracks “Disruption” and “Chompin’ At The Bit” do just that and kick up the pace with their quick guitar bits and feedback, with “Chompin’ At The Bit giving us another fun, melodic chorus and even MORE group vocals! It’s my dream come true! “Breaking and Bruised” has an isolated bassline that I’m utterly obsessed with, perfectly complimenting the rising intensity of the vocals.

TROUBLE is quick, true for this EP and maybe true for the way a punk kid suddenly finds themselves in a sticky situation with the cops while attending a show at an abandoned DMV. The four-track chunk of gold’s longest song sits at 3:48, so if you’re looking for a high-energy circle pit appetizer, this is definitely it.