The Masquerade - Home Is Where You Make It

Erie, PA's own The Masquerade have landed with their debut release titled Home Is Where You Make It. The effort is a effervescent and refreshing slice of pop-punk rhythms mixed upon a unifying lyrical structure that makes the songs pop and sizzle right out of the gate, and brings you right into the thick of things with this emerging band from the Keystone State.

We start things off with "Best Day Of My Life" a hard-rocking, sharply focused rocker that ushers us in right away with the echoing lead vocals of Geo Martinez providing the spark plug that lasts well throughout the duration of the album and long after the song has ended. "Best Day Of My Life" is my favorite song off the album that has a youthful energy to it and a sonic cavalcade that really evokes the spirit and essence of what their music is all about, coupled with dazzling guitar riffs from Brandon Eaton and TJ Hess, with Dakota Valerio providing the pounding drums that accentuate all the other sounds particularly well on this track. "Back Up Plan" has a New Found Glory type of feel to it with intense rhythms and blasting pop-punk wavelengths omnipresent at every turn that showcase a well focused and executed effort worked here to perfection so far. "Set Your Mind To It" begins to close it all out here with a Geo's vocals providing a ping-pong effect that can be felt all over the track and shakes the track down to its very core and provides some good vibes as we move towards the final song. "All My Life" ends it here with an encapsulated track that takes us back to the sounds we've heard in some capacity on the subsequent tracks, and gives us a brief overview of what we've heard so far and how it has affected us as a whole as things close out on point right here. What I enjoyed most about these guys was their ability to keep a simple musical framework in place with pop-punk rhythms that I grew up on and contributed a great deal to the person I am today. These guys have a very simplistic sound that can be enjoyed easily from today's youth, and maybe it can have the same kind of impact on them that the groups of yesteryear had on me.

All in all, a terrific and straightforward effort from The Masquerade, a rookie band to the scene that has the look and feel of a polished pop-punk act that has been doing it for years with a calm and confident stage presence that really turns heads here.

                                                                                                                              EP Score: 4/5

Track Listing:

1. The Weekend
2. Best Day Of My Life
3. Back Up Plan
4. Set Your Mind To It
5. All My Life