Poughkeepsie, New York's own pop-punk purveyors
We Are the In Crowd
, make their
Hopeless Records
debut with the
Guaranteed to Disagree
EP. Produced by
Zack Odom
and
Kenneth Mount
(
Jimmy Eat World
,
All Time Low
Cartel
), the EP highlights the hook-laden vocal interplay of powerful lead singer
Taylor Jardine
backed by the curt-voiced guitarist
Jordan Eckes
, who spend most of the record dueling in verses, finishing each other's lyrical sentences, and weaving harmonies, an approach that immediately sets them apart from their musical peers. Thematically, the EP is concerned with the struggles of young adulthood, from not compromising personality to win a crush's affections ("Never Be What You Want") to cutting through the haze of gossip ("Lights Out"), to taking a backstabbing so-called friend to task ("For the Win"). Delivered with quirky, tongue-in-cheek lyrics and instrumentation more focused on synth than guitar,
is slick, sweet, and fresh.