The Looking Glass - Goodbye. Hello. EP

A band who is new to the Taiwan scene; The Looking Glass are a four piece pop-punk band which features Jon Hom on guitar and vocals, Annie Chii on synthesizers and vocals, Iki Chen on Bass and Greg Russell on drums. Though, Jon and Annie have been playing on their own for a few years, this is their first E.P. as a full band.

The album starts out with "Goodbye. Hello"; a song which has the familiarity of Southern Californian pop punk bands and heavy, melodic keyboard sounds, which you might find on a Rentals album. From there it goes into "MSN. + Banana" - another pop punk gem, which includes one of the greatest vocal outros I've heard in a long time.

I've never seen these guys live, but if their live show is anything like the album, it should be a lively, rockin' affair. Both Jon Hom and Annie Chii can sing very well, and when they're singing together, backed by a solid rhythm section, it's pretty great.

The E.P. is a great first attempt at what is hopefully a long music career for The Looking Glass. They're going to start recording a new E.P. in the summer, and I'm looking forward to hearing the next step in their progression towards being a staple to the Taiwan underground punk rock scene.