You Know The Drill - 'Selfhood' EP Review

Tracklist:

1. Overcast

2. Homesick

3. Suspect

4. Blossom

5. Snake Eyes (feat. Joey Fleming of In Her Own Words)

Midlands Pop-Punkers You Know The Drill are back! They bring their new EP “Selfhood” with them after single “Snakes Eyes” was premiered on The Radio One Rock Show. Vocalist Benji Yapp explains what the EP means: “Selfhood is a word which describes the quality that makes up a person and just being aware and proud of who you are, which really resonated with us as we wrote this EP. We tried not let ourselves be limited by the “Pop-Punk” label and write without worrying what people were going to think, which definitely ended up benefitting the record.”

Completed by Luke Astley on Guitar and Vocals, Damo Darby on Bass and Brad Potter on Drums, the quartet followed-up 2016’s debut EP ‘Losing Streak’ with plenty of touring, including their first UK headliner and a Slam Dunk festival slot.

We start off the EP with “Overcast” - straight into it and you feel your head bobbing along to a great beat matched with awesome lyrics to sing a long to. You Know The Drill have blended new and old Pop-Punk together - this makes these songs timeless. Next up is “Homesick” the bangers keep coming - “Selfhood” is busting with energy all over the place!

Time to burn more energy with “Suspect”. It’s massive chorus, perfectly timed break down and smooth lyrics toward the tail end of the track makes this my favourite song of the EP.

Explaining the concept behind the artwork, Yapp states: “The main focal point, the dandelion, is just there looking all bright and pretty, but then there’s the lawnmower approaching in the background, teasing the impending doom to come. The brightness directly contrasts with the dark tale being told, reinforcing our key message: standing tall and proud, facing adversity head on and taking pride in being.”

Onto the calmer side of YKTD with track “Blossom” - it’s stripped back version of the band is spot one. The production of this EP shines on this track - the live sound comes across so well, it feels so real.

Tidying up with “Snake Eyes” - it’s back to energy for the four piece. The track featuring guest vocals from Joey Fleming of In Her Own Words. The first song written for the EP, Yapp says “Initially we intended it to be a standalone single, but when we started writing we just wanted to keep on going and make it an EP! It’s a song about realising how toxic your relationship with someone actually is and finding the strength to move on from it, realising your worth. Due to the darker vibes, the track reminded us of In Her Own Words, so I suppose it’s why Joey Fleming fits so well on the guest vocal section.”

To complement the darker lyrics, the video was shot in a black dance studio and features snakes and flickering TV screens, with Yapp revealing: “The idea to have the TVs on set came from wanting to include Joey in the video for his spot, so luckily we managed to shoot him whilst IHOW were on tour in the UK. All the other footage you see on the TV screens we shot our selves on our phones, we just wanted it to look as eerie and creepy as possible.”

These five tracks showcase how You Know The Drill have remoulded the sound of Pop-Punk by blending phase 1 and phase 2 together, it’s a new and exciting twist from other bands of the same genre.

“Selfhood” is a huge step in the right direction for You Know The Drill - they have created a much bigger sound - making them ready for the bigger stages.