The seeds for Better Days have been brewing for almost a decade, even before PVMNTS officially formed in 2016. This preparation has ensured that the debut release from the trio is as varied as you can think of, while still keeping the standard pop-punk ideals of bands like Blink-182, Taking Back Sunday and The Story So Far.
Lyrically, the record goes as deep as you can, dealing with topics such as death and loss on the heartfelt Standing On My Own Two Feet, depression on Chemical Trails and anxiety, which feature throughout the record.
The hard-hitting drums from Nick Guzman throughout the record leans towards the heavier elements of the genre and adds extra emphasis to each track. The dual vocal assault of Freddy Ramirez and Tyler Posey compliment each other, with Tyler’s harsher tones and occasional screams adding grit to Freddy’s more melodic nature. The upbeat feel behind the instrumentation adds an uplifting and light feel to the darker lyrical content. The halfway point of the EP sees Another Monday tackle self-doubt and anxiety with the aforementioned upbeat instrumentation. White Walls mixes the upbeat and energetic feel with a more sombre acoustic ending before Heavy Moon closes the EP with an angsty self-hating track.
Better Days is a bold and refined debut that blends the best bits of the old and new school pop-punk genres together to create their own staple sound in a genre that often produces the same records multiple times a year. PVMNTS have got a good formula here.