Hairmetalireland had the pleasure of seeing Harken live when they supported Kid Ego on their last tour. We were impressed with their energetic performance and were keen to see if this energy had been captured on their two song EP.

It opens with 'Disco Slut' which i would have to say after seeing them live is their strongest song. It's the perfect way to start the CD, its lively and I pleased to say that it captures the bands style and live performance perfectly. In fact every time I hear it I can picture front man Craig Swan jumping round like a demented Mick Jagger on speed (that's a good thing by the way). The song is very catchy and HMI found themselves singing along as we so often do after a few drinks. We can't fault anything about it. Craig's voice is fantastic on this song hitting every note perfectly and putting his all into the song. Nick and Luke do perfect job complimenting this with the catchy guitar riffs. The rhythm section of Timmy and Tom remains rock solid as it did live.

The second song is sweet little ballad called 'Run Back Home'. Whilst it is a good enough song at times it doesn't do Craig's voice the justice that it deserves. In saying that he does carry off the emotion of the song very well.

Perhaps the fact that there is only two songs on this demo would make me suggest that Harken had replaced 'Run Back Home' another faster track of with their other ballad 'Perfect Stranger' but this is a minor criticism.

Overall I would have to say that Harken are a band that know what they want to achieve. If possible catch them live cause the sheer energy that they possess is sure to impress and you will want this CD to try and capture that to rid you of that Monday morning feeling.
7/10
Kerri