For a debut EP, this is impressive, and Veridian do a good impression of an American emo pop/punk band with half a dozen albums under their belt.

That’s the problem with the sound of course: Veridian sound like any number of bands (You Me at Six, Mallory Knox, Fall Out Boy, Simple Plan) you’ve heard, and it’s a well-defined sound.

Still, when you’re thinking “sounds a bit My Chemical Romance,” Veridian are setting the bar high.

Veridian apparently only formed in 2016 in Reading, already having played Glastonbury. We guess they’ve all played in bands before, as you don’t get this good overnight.

Headlights opens and it’s one of the more MCR tracks, Simon Jackman having a voice that’s not unlike Gerard Way’s, and the drums are fast and tight.

Sleep A Little Better is a slower song, though it’s still slick and fast, while Follow has a good chorus, albeit all formulaic.

Ink is proper pop emo, the narrator talking about writing a loved one’s name on the back of his hand and the ink seeping into his blood; whether it’s trying to blend the innocence of young love with harsher elements of life we don’t know. It might make for a good video though. A riffy bit reminded us of poppy nu metallers Hoobastank, as does closer So They Say, which opens with slow keyboard but builds before ending with keyboard again.