Eastern Youth

365-Step Blues

[3/5] Some Japanese tourists return home from the U.S. with multiple souvenirs, marveling to their families at the vast, colorful land they’ve just experienced. In this case, the tourists are Eastern Youth, and the souvenir is a fluid knowledge of post-’90s American indie rock. The band’s second American-released album, the completely sung-in-Japanese 365-Step Blues, drives–if not drags–its way through 52 minutes’ worth of competent post-hardcore, casting light Fugazi shadows but more often tracing the jagged lines of early Cursive. And while Eastern Youth clearly understand these bands’ aggressive tendencies, they too often err on the side of politeness: With tracks like “Lone Path, Wind’s Path” and “The Overpowered,” they seem to be restraining an impressively harsh side that could easily be explored in depth to give their songs a real sense of urgency.
(FIVE ONE INC) Brian Shultz