Bands often try for years to get their name out into the entertainment world, but Manhattan’s Basic Vacation is a band of the rise. Working with Grammy Award-winning producer David Kahne, Basic Vacation sounds similar to Passion Pit.

The band consists of vocalist-guitarist Chris Greatti, bassist Jon Paul and their drummer Mike Montalbano. Like most bands, Basic Vacation started with nothing, but they are growing to be a hit. Their top selling song on iTunes , “I Believe”, was put on the newest edition of Now That’s What I Call Music! 48. Opening up for bands like Empire of the Sun, Owl City and Thirty Seconds to Mars, Basic Vacation has made a big splash for only releasing five songs.

The Basic Vacation EP is a great start to their career. “I Believe” and “World’s Collide” are the strongest songs on the EP.  With their catchy lyrics and upbeat indie-pop sound, these songs showcase the band’s ability to engage a listener. The chorus on many of the songs repeats often to make it easier for the listener to sing along (and get it stuck in their head).  With it’s simplistic drums and dismal lyrics, “Jamie”, the second song on the album, is a slower song that lacks the energy and excitement that the other tracks do. “It’s All Happening” is a rhythmic, optimistic song that really represents the motivation and nonstop work the band put in for their career to take off. It explains how everybody laughed at their dreams, but how they love the people who stood by them and told them it would take a while, but things are finally happening for them.

When listening to the Basic Vacation EP you must listen to all the songs in order as they are on the CD because of how they flow into each other. The song “You’re In My Head” describes a break up with someone who was wrong for you, but you still can’t let them go. This song glides seamlessly into a more driven beat and rock alternative sound in “World’s Collide”, a song about working as hard as you can and not taking the easy way to get what you want. The EP doesn’t necessarily have intricate instrumental parts, but the three musicians really hold their own to create a nice balance and entertaining music.

It’s a new year, a new semester and a fresh start so why not try a new band. Basic Vacation is a great light rock- alternative indie band that’s finding their way and creating a brand new start for the brand new year.