It’s like The Killers, Foster the People, and Arctic Monkeys all had lunch together and said, “You know what, we need something new to listen to.”

And in walks Basic Vacation.

Its three members, guitar and vocalist Chris Greatti, bassist Jon Paul, and drummer Mike Montalbano came together from all over the East Coast to form one of the new pop rock bands out today. They’re from all different parts of the East Coast, from Greatti’s origins in Morrisville, PA, to Montalbano’s hometown in Saddle Brook, NJ, all the way down to Paul’s stomping grounds in southern Florida. Starting out deprived of food and a steady income while desperately searching for someone to help them accomplish their dream of making music, the freshly cut band hit a stroke of luck and were signed by Grammy Award-winning David Kahne.

Ever since, the group solidified and released their first EP entitled “I Believe” with Atom Factory Music and Capitol Records. Its music that has that certain melody that wanders in your mind well after the song ends. In fact, I let some fellow high school students listen to it and each were immediately captured by the opening track, “I Believe” and one even came back to me and said that the song was so catchy, it was still ringing in their head.

The album exemplifies the wave of modern pop rock. Each song contains rocking rhythm patterns that are simple, yet effective when the hard hits on the toms and kick drum illuminate their classic rock origins. Synth backgrounds in some songs such as “Jamie” really bring out the modern roots. Alongside Montalbano behind the drum set, they complement each other very well.

In tracks like “It’s All Happening Now”, screaming guitar riffs are balanced by bass, poking its head out just below the surface of the other sounds. Power chords provide electricity and adrenaline in tracks like “You’re In My Head” and allow Basic Vacation to mirror other groups like The Killers or even Fall Out Boy. The vocals in the album additionally express the modern pop rock style of the group, and the lyrics hook the listeners. The chanty and “uplifting” chorus of “I Believe” is like one of any popular hit today, and the strong, but energetic words of “Worlds Collide” gives another useful façade to the band.

All in all, it’s hard not to feel good when you listen to this album. I give Basic Vacation’s new EP a 9 out of 10. Their alternative rock sound and glistening pop tints give them a sound that many people are craving for. Given the circumstances that they were struggling to get meals a year ago, they are now a bona fide band capable of making an starting album; one that will satisfy the hunger pangs of pop rock fans today.