EP REVIEW: Promise Game - "Horizon"
Promise Game’s EP, “Horizons” is a smooth listening soundtrack to lives of everyone I know
by Jesse Smith
Some of the best things happen when you least expect it, don’t you think? For example, when you and a bunch of buddies get together and just start covering your favorite jams in your basement but then suddenly, you are in a full on project and having very successful releases. This is the basic backstory of emo/pop punk band Promise Game who comes to us from New Hampshire. Promise Game is the living proof that you can never take the music out of musicians. Formed in early 2020, having the whole pandemic lockdown to individually get reintroduced to playing music again, what became something to do with your friends became an EP release in 2021 of original songs titled “It won’t be long now..”. Taking us into 2022, back and better than ever we have the follow up EP “Horizon”. Blending mid 2000’s emo and pop punk, Promise Game writes from the heart and creates a unique sound that really sets them apart. Throughout this EP, Promise Games uses ambient synth and old school electro-drum beats that brings your heart back to when a lot of us first got into these genres in the first place.
Horizons starts off strong with the single “I Give Up, You Win” which has a feature from Paper Monsters, which is the only feature on the EP. Having a very thumpy and fat bass tone mixed with early emo style vocals, it is obviously one of the heavy hitters. Setting the tone for the rest of the EP which sounds like it’s influenced by bands like Say Anything and Motion City Soundtrack. The use of basic electronic drum beats and ambient synth is not overbearing and has a super 2000’s vibe like in the next track “I'm Not Listening” which has a very catchy chorus that is full of emotion and angst. Moving throughout the EP, the bass is in the forefront of almost every song, which fans of Blink 182 will connect with. The song that stood out the most to me was the song “Sleeping Weather” which has all the elements of really great emo mixed with some old school pop featuring a melodic synth, sad boy vocal delivery and one hell of an outro. This also seems to be the crowd favorite as well racking up well over 10k streams.
Promise Game is a beautiful blend of what made the scene what it is today. Taking the old style even with its production and tones to heart and creating something truly lost and forgotten. Hitting all areas from emo like Brand new to pop punk like New Found Glory, Promise Game will have a really easy time grabbing the ears of everyone in the scene in one way or another. Horizons as a whole is a smooth listening soundtrack to the life of almost everyone I know. I truly believe that they took a step up since the last release and from the looks of it, so does everyone else. Progress is everything, and Promise Game nailed it.