Keepsake

The second release from Florida's Keepsake is a schizophrenic entity. The 13-track disc opens with a couple of screeching Grade-like, mid-tempo, melodic hardcore stompers and is followed by a jangle-y, potentially modern rock radio hit and then bobs and weaves back and forth between emo-core and quirky pop punk, often within the same song. Surprisingly, though, the bad manages to fuse the disparate and ever clashing genres into an interesting and slightly erratic collection that's neither groundbreaking nor a waste of time. It's decent enough in its own inconsistent way and at least they're not afraid to show off all their influences.