Winnipeg pop-punk/punk rock quintet Elder Abuse has returned with their newest collection of music since their highly acclaimed 2017 debut album, Burnt. The band is made up of vocalist Alex Guidry, guitarist Michael Fardoe, guitarist Brandan McLean, drummer Max Power, and bassist Sean Kaye, and are steadily on the rise with each release they drop. The band is made up of members that currently perform or have previously performed in a few other Winnipeg acts such as Daggermouth, Ceilings, Waster, Nice Cops, Louser, and many more.
Elder Abuse has continued to be a staple in the Manitoba punk/pop-punk scene since their first appearance on a stage in Winnipeg around 2012. Since making their live debut in the city, Elder Abuse has gone on to perform a slew of shows and released their 2014 debut EP Born to Lose, a split EP with Anchorless in 2016, and their aforementioned debut album Burnt in 2017.
The members of Elder Abuse pay homage to the 1990s style of punk rock by blending their loves of the sub-genres of skate punk, hardcore punk, and pop-punk into one distinctive mix. The new, stellar three tracks that appear on Take It Easy are a perfect example of these genres mixed into one, as they’re a substantial blend of fast-paced punk, infectious melodies, and intricate musicianship. These three new songs are the band’s observations from this current apocalypse-style world we’re living in with various narratives touching on topics like getting older, to more personal topics speaking on navigating their mental health.
Here’s a premiere of Bored, the third track from the EP
Without wanting to rehash much of what was said above, here’s a quick rerun of my review of the EP from a week or so back…
Elder Abuse – Take it Easy [digital only] (Little Rocket Records)
Elder Abuse are a 5 piece from Winnipeg. Seemingly if you type Elder Abuse into Google, er, let’s say you won’t get Elder Abuse the band. In fact, you won’t like the results at all. Suffice to say I’ve probably ended up on some kind of watch list as a danger to vulnerable members of society for failing to report abuse of the elderly or some shit. Anyways, they’ve been around since 2012, they have ex-members of Daggermouth and Ceilings and the three songs presented here are the first since their album Burnt in 2017, which I’m assured is highly acclaimed.
The title song here, Take It Easy apparently features one Chris Cresswell of The Flatliners and more recently Hot Water Music. High octane emotive, melodic hardcore is the order of the day here. And although the wheel is certainly not being reinvented here, it’s also not being fitted with cheapo re-treads either. This seems slick enough to stand up alongside the better sections of the Samiam back catalogue, and would I feel make a decent companion-piece to the criminally unsung post-Samiam efforts of the last couple of years such as Racquet Club and Ways Away. If you dig on Iron Chic and that, you’ll want a look at this as it’s well decent, this. Tony of Nurgle rating: 10/10
You can check the full EP on the bandcamp player below:
Pick up the digital only EP for a meagre £2.50 from bandcamp
