Half Past Two has been incredibly prolific at putting out new music. Back in January they released an EP that featured a much more aggressive ska-core sound that was completely different than everything they had put out before. Then, just 3 months later they released a fun 12 song EP on Bad Time Records. The album had a pretty wide range of songs, most of them felt a little more punk than their typical pop influenced ska, although they definitely showed more range on the album than either ska punk or pop ska would suggest. Now, just 5 months after their last full length album,they’ve released another single.
Half Past Two features Catbite in this newest song titled “Wrong For You”- and the idea of Half Past Two and Catbite working together feels like a perfect fit. Catbite is one of the most successful current ska bands and they famously don’t have a horn section. I definitely feel like a collaboration with Catbite would continue to shift Half Past Two in the direction they seemed to be moving, but this song is actually more similar to older Half Past Two’s pop-ska sound than I was expecting.
I do not mean for that to sound disparaging at all. The song is good, it’s catchy, and it does have a lot of the elements of their newer music mixed in- especially in the second half of the song. The keys in this song are outstanding and far more prominent than I was expecting. The backing vocals are outstanding, and the primary use of the keys allows the horns to excel when they are in play. Honestly, this is a great song. I think they do an outstanding job adding and stripping out instruments to constantly keep the song fresh and I’m a sucker for songs with a vibraslap. The more times I listen the more I appreciate all the different things happening in the song, and the pop elements don’t seem as prominent as much as they seem to on the first superficial listens. The continued evolution of Half Past Two, mixed with their frequent release schedule has me incredibly excited for everything they put out.
Written by Gimp Leg
