Review #29 : All Systems Go (The Waiting Room)

Review #29

Artist: All Systems Go
EP: The Waiting Room

Well it’s nearing the end of the year, and the end of the freakin' decade. And since the beginning of 2019, we have all become a bit wiser (I think), less patient (definitely), angrier (slightly), and grayer (unfortunately), but then there is this band, All Systems Go. These four dropped their first full length record entitled, Garden State Skies in January, and now not even a year later, are on the verge of bringing us this brand new six track EP named, The Waiting Room.

Slated to be released on December 6th, this new EP shows how much this musical unit has grown in under a year’s time. While GGS was a strong opening act met with rather positive reviews from their fans (as well as FG **cough, cough**), The Waiting Room has them arriving at
the whole new level.

The band, comprised of Matt, Devin, August, and Joe, tried something a bit different coming into the production of TWR. As stated in some of their recent promotional material, Matt described this release as a much more collaborative effort as opposed the last which was mainly just Devin and himself piecing songs together and having August and Joe fill them out with their respective instruments. In my opinion, this new strategy has certainly paid off, as you will hear these six songs sound much more unified and have a different “umph”
(for lack of a better term) behind them that some of the previous numbers were lacking.

The EP opens up with one of the band’s best tracks to date, “The Story So Far”. This track has been performed live many times, and is certainly a tune that fans will be thrilled to hear in all its glory. From the get go, you can hear the professionalism upgrade in these recordings. The mixing and mastering alone on of these songs showcase producer, Jamie GoWell’s chops behind the board, and he delivers the full sound that the band was aiming for with their January release. As it stands, “The Story So Far” is a great energetic track to begin this playlist with, and it leads us down a
slightly heavier road.

Second track on the docket is called, “TJ Eckleburg Isn't Even a Doctor” and it is reminiscent of a sound all too familiar to bands like A Day to Remember and Four Years Strong. This is interesting because to this point the band has stayed close to its blink-182 sounding homebase, so it’s nice to see that there is some experimentation going on in the ASG camp. What I particularly like about this track is the lead guitar fills, the rhythm pedal effects, and the progressive mood changes throughout. When you listen, definitely try to pay close attention to what is going on behind the curtain of this song, there are a lot of interesting parts in motion.

The following two tracks “Real” and “Rom Com” bring a lot of different aspects of ASG’s influences and musical range to the table. However, I feel the song “Real” does lean a bit too hard on any emo love song roots the band may have in their back pockets. Though a heavier ballad, number three on the list does break the momentum started by the EP’s first two pieces. “Rom Com” flows nicely as the fourth track though, and is a catchy acoustic tune fronted mainly by Matt’s vocals, and has occasional, yet effective vocal collaborations between he and Devin.

And finally the EP concludes with a great song called, “I’m Trying”. It features guest vocalist, Dan Holden of local New Jersey bands, Shadowplay and Sweep Echo and has the longest runtime on the record. Through the delivery of the lyrics, you can hear that this song is by far one of the most emotional for the band, and it’s unique setup really creates the mood for
the whole conclusion of the EP.

I would love to see future songs modeled after this one on their next big release!

There are a lot of reasons to like All Systems Go as a band, their energy on stage, their wide variety of cover songs, their willingness to experiment and grow as artists, and now they can add one more thing to that list, their second release “The Waiting Room”. Check it out on December 6th!

Ryan Hanratty
Frosted Green Productions

(Video shot and edited by Frosted Green Productions)