Being a relatively new pop-punk band could be considered somewhat daunting in 2010, but Jersey’s I Call Fives start Bad Advice with a punch. “Hand Me Down Luck” is everything you’d like to hear on a pop-punk record: short, distorted, and to the point. “Elevator Music”, the EP’s best track, shines as Jeff Todd sings “I hope this song is the elevator music on your way to hell” over a perfectly placed riff by guitarist Mike Gavarone.

Aj Premedo of The Dangerous Summer was kind enough to drop his vocals on “Try Hard To Remember” and you can sure bet I Call Fives is happy he did as Aj sings “I have the perfect life in front of me // and I threw it away because I want to be // everything other than what they’ll expect // I hope that some day you’ll forgive and forget”.

It’s never a bad thing when an album’s “worst track” would be considered a better one on one of its peers’ records. “Easy To Say States Away” is perfectly summed up as Todd sings “Apparently I wasn’t enough to keep you caught up in the moment // Apparently I wasn’t enough // No I was never enough to keep you honest.” “Two Days Or A Lifetime Of Failure” is musically the strongest on the EP as it’ll make you think you’re back in the pop-punk world of 2001, something the band is more than good at.

Bad Advice closes with “Take The Fall” as the band takes a chance with an acoustic track before the full band explodes into a pop-punk frenzy. Luckily for I Call Fives, they pull off the change perfectly as the acoustic guitar gives Jeff Todd’s vocals a perfect chance to get the credit deserved. Todd pounds in the line “I can’t do things the way you want me to // Sometimes I just feel better when I’m further from you”.

****/*****