Kilmore Place is a five-piece rock band who has just recently broken into the music scene here in Vancouver with a style that is “nostalgically alternative”. And the reason why I say that is because not only do they possess similar D.I.Y. esthetics as their 1990’s predecessors, releasing and producing their latest EP, “…What Happened?” based purely on their own efforts, but their sound and lyrics are also reminiscent of alternative-era rock, heavily guitar-driven and packed with emotional catharsis. Despite the similarities, Kilmore Place should not be pegged as a strictly alternative rock band because …What Happened? brings much more elements of mystery and vulnerability than the good ol’ fuzz and distortion.…What Happened? is a six-song serenade about escapism, mortality, change and many other thematic subjects. The first track “Runaway” opens with a looping guitar  line and perfectly paced drum successions and as the vocal enters smoothly and intertwines with the rest of the instrumentation, I was immediately reminded of “Where the Streets Have no Name” by U2. But as the song and album progresses, the sound of Kilmore Place becomes more established and distinctively different from the styles of the 90’s alternative-era. The most apparent difference was with the beginning of their second song “Lost at a Wedding” which I would not call alternative in its sonic qualities, boasting more folk-pop in its arrangements and instrumentation. It’s straightforward structure and uncomplicated harmony also make it one of the most palatable songs of the whole album. Along with the album’s pop quality and easy-going atmosphere, the songs on …What Happened? are not always up-beat in their sentiments. The songs,”Night’s Forgotten” and “Yesterday, White Sand Shores” are two incredibly dark tracks which may come as surprises to those who are not prepared for the level of bleakness in two seemingly assertive and cheery-sounding songs. With lyrics like “so leave my corpse on the side of the road, leave my bones alone” and “I wanna sing a broken tune, I wanna turn my song to blue”, Kilmore Place paints a different picture with these two songs, and it is one coloured with depth and sensitivity.To cap off, Kilmore Place’s last two songs of their EP are expressive and intellectual. While vocal melodies meander and crescendo in “Bag It Up”, the deliveries on “The Monkey Song” are crisp and consistent. Although the last two songs are different in their lyrical content but their underlying sentiments are not far off from one another because both songs harbour senses of evolution and anticipation of the future.  With so many different ranges of emotions and poetic imageries, “… What Happened?” is only the beginning of a series of established pop-rock compilations Kilmore Place will be creating in its musical career.Despite the established sound Kilmore Place has brought with “…What Happend?” the album isn’t without its flaws. Labelling themselves “alternative” and by some critics obscure the real potential of the EP because it sounds better as a pop album than an alternative one and that is just a matter of creating false expectations which, I admit, isn’t entirely the band’s fault. The real disappointment however, resides with the fact that Kilmore Place really has not brought anything unique to the current music scene in terms of sonic manipulations, instrumentation innovations and subject matter. Perhaps it’s because they had such big shoes to fill having been compared to legendary bands such as Third Eye Blind and Coldplay but regardless of that, I really didn’t get a sense that they wanted to be anything wildly creative or innovative. So sometimes the songs on the album can seem somewhat trite and uninteresting.Whether it’s originality or popularity Kilmore Place is going after, …What Happened? is a flexible enough EP which can be categorized as both. Considering it is the only band’s second album, …What Happened? has exceeded the average of quality of most bands out there trying to “make it”. And that being said, Kilmore Place definitely has a competitive edge when it comes to wooing the mass.Written By: Xuan Wang