Magnolia Park morph into a heavier, darker band – but lose parts of themselves on the way – on moody fourth album VAMP.
blink-182 once suggested having Halloween on Christmas. Magnolia Park have taken it a step further – Halloween in April, anyone? We already know the Orlando quintet love spooky season, having released two Halloween mixtapes, but their fourth full-length ditches their kitschy orange and purples for dramatic blood red.
Added to this is a grandiose concept splicing vampiric horror with elements of sci-fi (the band have namechecked Dracula and Star Wars as influences), but while it’s novel for Mag Park, it’s not enormously distinct in a world where larger-than-life, theatrical names rule the roost.
The other notable quality VAMP has is a significant shift in sound. Following 2023’s messy Halloween Mixtape II, it’s now clear that on that record, they were simply sifting through a costume box for something new to wear. Now, they’ve both refined and redefined themselves into a heavier outfit, and they’ve recaptured some of the slickness their previous songwriting had.
The stomping CULT conjures a feeling of pitch-black menace before segueing into one of their snappiest choruses to date, while the darkly anthemic WORSHIP goes for the throat. Later, the symphonic touches on REASONS add an enticing touch of theatricality before plunging into a real thunderclap of a breakdown. Closer OPHELIA, meanwhile, goes to more existential places, 'Where do we go when we die?' frontman Joshua Roberts plaintively asks – but surges into an emotional and undoubtedly huge sounding finale.
Magnolia Park might have parted ways with pop-punk for now, but they might have erroneously left some of their distinctness with it. Too often, it’s just slightly too easy to recall the output of other bands while listening – THE SCREAMS, for example, foists together the sounds of Bring Me The Horizon and Bad Omens with some on-the-nose Mike Shinoda worship. SHADOWTALK, meanwhile, looks towards Motionless In White to the point that their own uniqueness gets buried. Occasionally, there are other slip-ups – OMEN being the chief offender, its frenetically paced electronicore coming off scattered and cartoonish.
Though VAMP is good fun and a significant improvement on its predecessor, Magnolia Park have found themselves in the shadow of their influences. Still, if they find a way to differentiate themselves, they’ll really be back in business.
Verdict: 3/5
For fans of: Bad Omens, Motionless In White, The Home Team
VAMP is out now via Epitaph
