Coast To Coast is the second full-length album of Belgian punkrockers Five Days Off. Unfamiliar with their previous work, I didn’t really know what to expect and after a first bite I thought this was just another generic fast-yet-melodic punk-CD. Some of the songs had a different touch than the rest, which I liked very much, so I decided to give the album another try and I’ll have to adjust my point of view. The band still won’t win any awards for ‘most original band ever’, but it just wouldn’t be right to call the them another Bad Religion- or Diesel Boy-rip-off. The fast punkrock Five Days Off play definitely has a lot in common with their American brothers-in-arms (fast, melodic punk, a lot of vocal harmonies and catchy choruses) but they mix in enough ingredients of their own (weird, unexpected breaks, guitar solos and an organ to top things off) to make this well edible.

The singer’s voice is a bit whiny in the more serious songs, but generally sounds good and the drummer, who carries most of the songs, plays tight and does some nice stuff in his fills. The production is clear and well balanced, as Five Days Off recorded in the same studio and with the same producer as their earlier stuff. If your favorite US bands are too busy chilling on the Cali beach to record a new album, these Belgian boys might just be what you’re looking for. This is a very nice CD with the songs ‘Day by Day’, ‘The Sequal’ and ‘Randy’ as sunny highlights, although 7 Seconds cover-song ‘Young Till I Die’ has been done already and is therefore pretty much redundant.