El Escapado

While punk upstart The Getaway will be a relative unknown by name to most, those familiar with the Nashville punk scene stand to recognize a few familiar voices from the rising four-piece. Carry Ons fans will be stoked to hear Abe Mesaris picking up with primary vocal duties, and those familiar with Stik Man Records label boss KD Bell will recognize his crunchy bass and thrashy, rough cut supporting vocals from Fist Of The North Star. Will Greene and Josph Shrum round out the group on guitar and drums respectively.

Their debut EP, El Escapado, offers the quick and dirty combo of thrash meets melodic punk you’d expect from the pedigree backing up The Getaway. Opening with the humorous tongue in cheek mentality of “Escapado,” the band rambles along like a tipsy performer at a karaoke bar before accelerating headlong into audio anarchy. From here the pendulum of melody swings between rip roaring riffs, shredded vocal chords, and Mesaris’ innate lyrical bounce. As becomes clear in the first full track, “The Muse,” right through closer, “The Escape,” Mesaris affords a loose contrast to the otherwise steadfast smashing and crashing. The Getaway lures listeners with big belted “woo-ooah” bolstered choruses that make way for blistering Fist Of The North Star style solos.
The level of energy running through The Getaway really plays up El Escapado. On its own, the songs are pretty typical stuff, but the rampant drum blasts and vigorous tempo ensure listeners will be sweating trying to keep pace. The politically charged number “The Eagle Is Watching” rages on as Mesaris slams big brother’s invasion of privacy with the spotlight on global satellite networks. “Medal Of Horror” only needs forty seconds to land a scathing critique of war veterans abandoned by their country and swallowed up by the effects of PTSD.

You won’t find many surprises in El Escapado, but you may be surprised how seamless The Getaway comes across. Full of targeted anger and relevant social critiques, The Getaway embodies the type of ragged punk rock Stik Man Records has built their reputation on. Hopefully The Getaway serves as more than a simple distraction to this group of musicians, because El Escapado deserves a sequel. - The Punk Site