Into It. Over It./Such Gold - Split
Release Date: May 24, 2011
Record Label: No Sleep/Mightier Than Sword
It seems like every time I review a split, I start the review by comparing the two bands in some way. I’ll write about how their sounds complement each other, so doing a split was a great idea, or about how they’re not very similar at all but somehow it makes sense. Well, instead of doing that with Into It. Over It. and Such Gold, I’ll just say that all of the young men involved in this split release are talented and worthy of your ears, and now I’ll shut up and start talking about the music.
Evan Weiss, known better as Into It. Over It., presents us with the last two of his Twelve Towns songs, as we get to hear him sing about Washington, D.C. and Portland, OR this time around. “Washington, DC” is a full-band, high-energy rocker that may not be quite as good as Weiss’ full-band work on the IIOI/KOJI split, but is still more than listenable. “Portland, OR” is easily the better of the two tracks, showcasing Weiss’ calmer vocals with more mellow musicianship. This, in my opinion, is where Into It. Over It.’s best work comes out, sort of in a Death Cab For Cutie-esque setting. With these last two Twelve Towns songs, Weiss only reaffirms my thoughts that he is one of the best songwriters around right now.
The Such Gold side of the split is definitely louder. “Minstrels” is exactly what we have come to expect from this band: a chaotic, drum-led rager of a punk song where Ben Kotin’s rough vocals deliver personal lyrics. “The World That You Live In” steals the show on this split, though, as the short and sweet track is full of fist-pounding one-liners that should transition easily into live shows. It’s exciting to imagine Such Gold ending shows with this number, as the closing lines of, “Nothing that you say will make a difference in me anyway / And besides, I know that you don’t have to be / Part of the world that I live in / Fuck the world that you live in,” leave a resonating air of passion when the split ends.
Into It. Over It. and Such Gold may not bear many similarities on the surface, and after listening to this split countless of times…well, they still aren’t all that similar. Weiss’ complementary rocking and more mellow, indie sides present a harmonic and relatively easy-going half of this release, while Such Gold’s forever-blistering brand of punk-as-hell-pop-punk comprises the more in-your-face half of the split. I don’t know how often I’ll listen to these four songs in this order after I publish this review, but I’ll most likely treasure each of the artists’ contributions as some of the better material in their respective catalogs.
Don't like Such Gold, no interest in them at all, but Evan's side of this sounds incredible. Was talking to him about the full-length last night, excited about it.
Truthfully going to check this out because I am from Portland, OR and there is a song on this called that but also a solid review and it dos make it sound quite great.
this split is utterly amazing, all four songs showcase each bands talents in a different way. great review too, however the IIOI/KOJI split has been my least favorite release from evan. something about the quality of the songs from 12 towns and 52 weeks, i just think he sounds best with those recordings. i hope someday he tours with a full band and plays some of the largely ignored full band songs that i love. such gold's performance of "minstrels" at bledfest was incredible.
I still haven't gotten my copy of the record and I've been putting off listening to the digital download until I can touch the record. Still really excited to hear this.
Thanks for the solid review, Thomas. I guess if you had to sum us down to one band...Lifetime would probably it...but that comparison just feels so generic to me. Oh well.
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