Dear Pines and Guest House released a split in 2015 and I’m sure I planned to review it in 2015 but one thing lead to another and I never I got around to it. If you didn’t get around to listening to this split in 2015, today is your lucky day because I’m here to remind you.

Dear Pines is what I refer to as an old school emo pop rock band very reminiscent of mid 90’s acts like The Get Up Kids.  Their first track on the split, “Through” comes at you with a fast emotional intensity that is amplified with yelling and screaming of the vocal melodies.  Their second track, “tied down” starts off a lot more mellow but quickly ramps up and really showcases the band’s range.

Guest House definitely brings the more mellow side of the split with their first track “Death and Taxes”.  Guest House almost strikes a perfect ying and yang type balance with the tracks provided by Dear Pines.  I really love the twinkly guitar riff that starts off the song. Their second track, “Enders” has a similar vibe to “Death and Taxes as it starts off soft and then ramps up to an emotional crescendo.  It’s the perfect ending to this split.

You can listen to the entire split on their bandcamp. All physical formats have been sold out since its release.  I really do think the songs are great and if this were a split album instead of a split EP it may be among the best of the year.

7/10

-Dan R.