Respira - This Is Not What You Had Planned

Such as the case with Respira; a friend who is very jaded at most things that are new told me about this band that had hints of Waxwing and The Weakerthans but with an original twist.

When you first hear of an unknown band from a friend, you tend to take the suggestion with a grain of salt (depending how much you trust that individual). Their intentions can be nothing more than noble in recommending a band that they think you would enjoy or simply plugging their friends’ band to you. This happens more often than not and I know many of us have been burned more than once listening to a horrible demo or MP3 recommended to you. Then you can take into consideration your friends that are extremely jaded on anything that has come out within the past few years (or the past ten years for that matter) and when they recommend a band to you, it better be the bomb diggidy (I promise not to use that word ever again.)

Such as the case with Respira; a friend who is very jaded at most things that are new told me about this band that had hints of Waxwing and The Weakerthans but with an original twist. After I received their first full-length, I was blown away. Once the chance to review this EP came up, I jumped at the chance. This being their second official release to the world via Grey Flight Records, I had high expectations. This EP blows the full-length out of the water. Backed by a J. Robbins production you know you can expect the best recording that money can buy. With their previous full-length, they hinted at their song writing prowess as they crafted songs that usually made their way past five minutes and with this EP they have pulled out all the stops.

To cut to the chase, the band is doing something slightly derivative but executing better than 98% than most bands around today. I highly recommend this on all accounts and hopefully this band will continue their musical journey towards something great.

(Grey Flight Records)