Lifes/Short Walk - Split 7"

Lifes have been a busy band since their demo tape was released. They've released two split 7"s and featured on a compilation 7" too. On this split, the two-piece PV band saddle up with fellow Milwaukee band Short Walk. It was released by Hygiene Records in collaboration with the bands themselves. Plus, it features a whopping fourteen songs! On one 7"!

Tracklisting:-

1. Lifes - Not Alright
2. Lifes - Tables Turned
3. Lifes - Sacred Order
4. Lifes - Nothing New
5. Lifes - Dum Cos I Said So (FYP)
6. Lifes - Party By The Lifes
7. Short Walk - Same Dream
8. Short Walk - Great Luck
9. Short Walk - Just Say No
10. Short Walk - Planeswalker
11. Short Walk - Communication
12. Short Walk - Fuck God
13. Short Walk - Rider
14. Short Walk - Boldly Stoned

Lifes are a pretty intense listening experience. Off-kilter drum and bass powerviolence is the order of the day on their side of this split and instantly, Not Alright stands loud and proud. It’s surprising what melody is created by the bass. Tables Turned is the first really short song on here at a mere thirteen seconds. It really is over before you know it. They stretch their legs and lungs during the following trio. Firstly, Sacred Order gets the title of longest song on the split and works really well against the backdrop of brief grinding bursts. Nothing New sees them mixing hints of sludge with hints of thrash. At least that’s what I picked out of the intro anyway. One things for sure, their urgency never lets up, even during the slower latter half of Dum Cos I Said So (FYP). Their side ends with a flurry of chaos in Party By The Lifes.

Onto Short Walk’s side now. They’re a three-piece with a guitarist. Same Dream starts off with a peculiarly quite intro before plenty of double-bass and fuzzy guitar.  Their vocalist must have huge lungs as for the first fifteen seconds of Great Luck, he screams without coming up for air. Short Walk demonstrate their ability to switch between fast and slow dynamics during Just Say No. There’s nothing slow about Planeswalker though and you definitely feel it as it stops on a dime. You really do need staying power to blast through this in one sitting. That’s not a criticism though, as Communication will probably have you bouncing around like a loon anyway. There’s no prizes for guessing what the subtly titled Fuck God is about. It’s mad and features some nice guitar work towards the end. Their longest addition to the split is Rider and here, they’ve got their groove nailed down. It’s well worth waiting for. Ending it all with Boldly Stoned, if you really were stoned when listening you’d probably be at your paranoid, jerky phase. 

While both Lifes and Short Walk occupy the same sub-genre, they both have plenty to add to it. The production on the split is clear while not being too pristine and somehow, Lifes seems to come put the louder on record. Plus the cover art is nice.

Stream the whole thing here via Hygiene Records:-

You can purchase digital/physical copies from the following links -

Lifes - http://lifes.bandcamp.com/music
Short Walk - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Short-Walk
Hygiene Record - http://hygienerecords.storenvy.com/

Lifes Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LIFES414
Short Walk Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Short-Walk
Hygiene Records Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/hygienerecords