Nothing Worth Having Comes Easy (Online Version)

Album Review

Adeline Records has stepped up for the stateside release of Save Your Breath's Nothing Worth Having Comes Easy, an EP of super-melodic pop-punk that wears influences like the Ataris and Saves the Day on its exuberant sleeve. The Welsh group could pass for any number of its American counterparts — New Found Glory and All Time Low come to mind throughout the guitar-driven set — but all the comparisons eventually fall by the wayside as you're taken by the enthusiasm and energy put into each track. Some more variety would have been nice, as songs too easily run into one another, and it's the bonus tracks that actually wind up sticking with you longest — the poorly titled "Bin Laden Saw Your Slogan T-Shirt and Now He's Got a Rap Career" is one of the catchiest and strongest on the album, with "Your Oven's on Fire" close behind thanks to some nice group vocals near the end. Despite the vanilla flavor of most of the EP, you can sense that if Save Your Breath push themselves, they can find a way to add something new and more memorable to their pop-punk playbook. But for now, they're still worth a few spins on your next sunny-day car ride.