This self-titled EP is the first release from Two Shots Fired, hailing from Upper Hutt, Wellington. At heart a hard rock group, their sound employs a fair bit of variety, jumping from the staccato riffing of “Killswitch Engage,” to the tuneful layers of “All That Remains,” all with a hefty sprinkling of radio-aimed melody. “The Last Time,” for example, is pure ear candy, with intricate and engaging guitar work and a big, bold rock chorus. And that’s pretty much par for the course with this EP.

Regrettably, the one real flaw here is the production, which is fairly raw and unpolished. That’s totally understandable, of course, for a self-funded EP, but it does mean that songs which sound like they would be fantastic live lose some of their punch. That aside, this is an EP full of songs that not only show a ton of potential, but also sound like they’d be a natural fit on modern rock radio (if such a thing still exists). It all makes for a worthy first effort that will make you want to see this band live.

Three and a half stars out of five.