For Fans Of: One Dollar Short, Blink 182, Yellowcard.
Gold Coast pop punk group Skyway are back with the release of their long awaited debut album, ‘Finders Keepers’ out on Takedown Records. The album features guest performances from none other than some of Australia’s most iconic vocalists, Winston McCall (Parkway Drive), Cameron Baines (Bodyjar, Cola Wars), and Scott E. Woods (One Dollar Short). Those three names should prove to be more than enough to attract the attention of music fans nationwide.
‘Finders Keepers’ starts off with the shortest song of the fourteen, ‘Losers, Weepers’. A short, positive song that many musicians will be able to relate with. Vocalist Dan McMaster has improved immensely since their first EP ‘Take These Days’, pushing his vocals to new limits and really finding his own voice throughout the album, especially on the first single ‘Birthdays (Are For Sluts and Losers)’. The same must be said for drummer Ben Hallett, he might be small but he hits those skins hard and fast. If you were wondering why the drums and guitars sound good, that is thanks to the work of James Balderstone (ex-A Secret Death, Mourning Tide). The most surprising song off the album is the fast paced punk track, with a breakdown, ‘You Promised The World, But Brought Me An Atlas’, which includes a guest appearance from Australia’s own living legend Winston McCall. Very few pop punk bands would be able to pull off a song that includes brutal vocals and a breakdown, while having it sound natural. The heavily influenced Story Of The Year acoustic ballad ‘Trainwrecks’, is another song showing their willingness to grow and experiment. Skyway also do not fall into the cliché of just writing songs about partying and hanging out all day, which is common for this genre, the Yellowcard influenced track ‘Home Run’ is proof of that. ‘Finders Keepers’ is the pop punk release many Australian fans have been waiting for.
Skyway have proved why their name has been floating around music circles across the country. ‘Finders Keepers’ is a pop punk album that has enough balls to win back fans that thought they grew out of the genre. Big things on are the horizon for this Gold Coast group.
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