The Premier

The Premier - Live Like You're Dying EP

1. The Great American Novel In Three Easy Steps
2. Last Chance Road Island
3. She Doesn't Bother With Goodbyes
4. In the Spotlight of a Senior Year
5. Humphrey Bogart Doesn't Have Shit On Me
6. Top Ten Reasons to Lose Your Faith In Mankind
7. Outro Monologue

When bands send me records independently, I often expect them to have a pretty decent amount of their stuff together, but I could never expect the level of poise that The Premier comes to the table with. They're chock full of the ability to write music ranging anywhere from Lux Courageous, to Say Anything. From Bear vs Shark, to Cursive. You'd want to call them pop-punk, primarily, until they kick in with their refined rock capabilities. And from there, you might want to call them anything else. But I should listen to my own set of rules first: don't ever settle to call a band any one style of music. Just call these guys The Premier.

The Great American Novel opens up the record with vocals, and its scattered guitar pieces littered throughout the background. The words take the stage here, and set you up for what these guys might be all about. Last Chance Rhode Island completely switches gears for the band, and takes things in a much more rock-fused direction. Complete with a piano solo in the song's fading moments, this song is really where the album's identity can be found. Lots of great guitar work and voices that wouldn't be a beautiful sound on their own, but together, their sounds of unity and passion meld together to find an inner strength that rings of a beauty all its own.

The song-writing ability of these guys is uncanny. There is nothing formulaic about the songs that they are writing at all. There are enough direction changes in each song to keep you listening to this record for months. In the video game industry, this is called replay value. In all industries, this is called "never getting stale." At the very least, you will have to listen to this album three times to be able to hear all of the parts worth hearing in every song. There are two talented guitarists at work here, along with a drummer and bassist who are both going to dare you to ignore the rhythm section.

The best part about this band? They are all barely pushing 20. Expect things to only get better from here. Young guys, please take note of what this band is doing. New styles, new melodies, new ideas. They are not trying to get their quick hits out by copying their favorite bands, and building from there. This band started from the ground, and will make a huge name for themself within a year or two. This is an amazing EP. Don't miss out on their early stuff, because when you're listening to them in two years, you'll want to come back to where it all started. You'll want to come back to The Premier.
The Verdict: 5/5
www.thepremierrock.com - Steve

The Premier
Graham Bailey 9/21/2005
Music Review

"The Live Like You're Dying EP"

2005 Self Release
Score: 8 (of 10)

How often do you hear a band that might not be doing anything particularly new, but they are doing what they are in such a way as to actually keep your attention? The Premier, a band from Hatfield, PA are doing just that; making listeners pay attention to a genre that is getting old quick. Having reached over 10,000 plays on Purevolume.com, 6,000 on Myspace.com and be chosen by Absolutepunk.net as one of the top unsigned artists in the country, The Premier have released their debut six-song Live Like You're Dying EP.

For a debut EP Live Like You're Dying is quite impressive. Every song makes good use of the quiet/loud dynamic, and is quite catchy. The playing sounds great; in particular the drumming ("She Doesn't Bother With Goodbyes") and the piano ("Last Chance Rhode Island") parts stand out. The album displays a good range of material, from lighter emo songs like "Last Chance Rhode Island" to heavier, hardcore-influenced songs like "Top Ten Reasons to Lose Your Faith in Mankind." One of the only drawbacks is that at times the composition of the songs sounds a bit random, as if written by good musicians with little experience writing original music (although this is not uncommon for a debut EP.)

Aside from a few slips the vocals, both primary and backing, sound very good. Once again the variety keeps the album interesting, as The Premier shift from emo-sounding vocals ("The Great American Novel in Three Easy Steps), to passionately delivered dual vocals ("Last Chance Rhode Island"), to hardcore vocals ("Top Ten Reasons to Lose Your Faith in Mankind.")

Lyrically The Premier also does well on Live Like You're Dying. The band, who live by the philosophy "If you're not doing what it takes to wake up happy, why are you waking up?," deliver passionate ("We'll never let this dream die"), sometimes bitter ("You f***ing coward, we don't deserve this"), but always well-written lyrics.

Overall: For a debut EP Live Like You're Dying is quite good; the musicianship is definitely present, the variety is good and the vocals sound, for the most part, good. With some more time to develop The Premier could be just that.
- Graham Bailey

The Premier
http://www.thepremierrock.com/

The word "emo" has been bandied about quite a bit in the past few years, and the carelessness with which the term has been used has left the genre undefined yet easily lampooned. While cookie-cutter tunes about girls and death seem to be all it takes to earn the "emo" tag, there was once a time when emo songs were so much more: a reflection of musicians' lives in their entirety, meaning that lyrics covered day-to-day affairs, politics, kinship, etc., in addition to romantic relationships. There are still bands making this kind of music today, though, and such an act is The Premier, from Lansdale, Penn.
The Premier's songs combine the accomplished musicianship of Sunny Day Real Estate with the lyrical fervor of Thursday, all with an attention to tuneful pop craftsmanship. The guitar work from members Nick Steinborn and Dave Hughes is always interesting and varying, going from punk rock strumming to funky picking as the mood strikes them. Drummer Matt Brasch adds a hard shell of percussive power. His playing is distinct and really stands out, but never overwhelms the songs like your average Guitar Center metal wonder-drummer might.
The Premier's years of writing and touring have recently yielded the tight and diverse The Live Like You're Dying EP. The disc carries a theme of youthful experience, joyous car rides and tight-knit community. Such standout tracks include "Last Chance Rhode Island" and "In the Spotlight of a Senior Year." "Last Chance" details the band's life on the road, and the lyrics' use of automobile imagery conveys the importance of fending off isolation through a select group of friends.
"In the Spotlight of a Senior Year," carries the sort of urgent anguish best meant for teenagers and young adults. A high school graduation marks the end of one world and the introduction of another, and frontman, lyricist and bassist Campbell intones the worries of America's youth with such existentialist questions as "So now who am I?" and "We won't change the world, will we?" while simultaneously, and ultimately showing a gritty determination to persevere passed jaded cynics and failed opportunities, stating, "We'll never let these dreams die."
The Live Like You're Dying EP is a story of hope and love. If anything, the album serves as a representation of not just the band's song writing abilities, but also of its work ethic. The Premier exalt the idea of strength through community, and the band stays true to such an ideal, even going so far as to include a few of their friends from the Lansdale scene in performances. Later this month, the group will be releasing three new songs for free on purevolume.com/the premier, as well as going on tour of the Northeast in January. The Premier also plays a decent number of shows in the area year-round; check out the band's website for details.
- Joe Pelone