Being from California, Longshot's pop-ska sound is nothing new. As we all know, California is the breeding grounds for all the pop-ska acts. They, however, do a good job of taking what has already been done and keeping it fun and exciting, which is vital, especially in both the pop and ska genres. The way the vocals interacted with the music was a bit shaky at times, over powering the music in some spots and sounding very loud, but with a few hooks and a nice, skankable beat mixed in with warm keyboards and bursts of horns, you begin to look past that fact and just enjoy yourself. Side two seems stronger musically, with "Simple Times" and "The Feeling Inside" being when the band is at their tightest. Although side one is good, it does seem a bit loose and immature. But one thing this demo shows, overall, is the fact that this band has a lot going for them, and they just need to focus their energy and keep on having fun, as well as practice like mad, and pretty soon they'll be releasing a solid full-length. For a demo, the sound quality was nice, and of course the music was fun, so I'll give this a B.

Long Winters, The: When I Pretend To Fall

Longwave: Day Sleeper EP

[Issue Nine // June 1998]