:: Me Vs You - The Fear of Falling

Me Vs You

The apology often made for mediocre music – mediocre punk more than any other – is invariably that it sounds better live: that it was specifically intended to be experienced live, and to judge any band on their recorded output is to have missed the point entirely. The Fear of Falling EP, from Sydney band Me Vs You, is mediocre. That half of their style they borrow from metal works in their favour when it shows, granting you enough excellent licks and solos to make the first six tracks passable. However the formulaic pop punk that constitutes the other half thoroughly undermines whatever interesting moments there are on this release. The throwaway D&M acoustic guitar track that closes it erases those moments from your mind completely. The lyrical element of the EP fails to redeem these shortcomings, with overwrought and over-emotional vocals being delivered in standard issue nasal punk style. Me Vs You may have a solid live reputation, but this doesn’t translate onto disc at all. If The Fear of Falling is only a pale imitation of the live act, this begs the question – why release it at all?