The Front Bottoms Bring Up Tasty Leftovers on 'Rose EP'

Society always celebrates the records that top the Billboard 200 album chart. Back of The Billboards is a Music Times weekly segment that looks at the opposite end: the new record that finished closest to the back of the Billboard 200 for the previous week. We hope to give a fighting chance to the bands you haven't heard of.

Week of 06/27/2014
WHO: The Front Bottoms
WHAT: Rose EP
SPOT: 195

New Jersey's The Front Bottoms are touring with Say Anything and You Blew It! so fans shouldn't be expecting a follow-up to the critically approved Talon of The Hawk during 2014. The group did have enough left over to drop the Rose EP however, six tracks that follow the same successful formula as last year's album...giving preference to the acoustic guitar over the electric, with percussion that bobs with pop punk energy when it needs and fades nobly when the aforementioned acoustic lead demands space.

Those who relate to the sympathetic stories from Modern Baseball frontman Brendan Lukens but find his delivery overwrought may appreciate The Front Bottoms approach more. Brian Sella packs a toned down yet similarly pained quality to his voice and the themes of loss resonate across Rose (although that concept is heavy throughout the lands of emo and pop punk, which share a very grayed border). This isn't a breakup record however. "Flying Model Rockets" laments a friend travelled west to California, while "Jim Bogart"—this EP's best track-does indeed mark the end of a less platonic relationship, the lid on that coffin being nailed down with the repeated line "sometimes things just don't work out." Indeed, even the title of this release is a tribute to the deceased "Grandma Rose."

Rose, although probably drawn from the leftovers of Talon of The Hawk, hopefully indicates The Front Bottoms commitment to the direction they're currently following.