SHOT DOWN TWICE are a Canadian hard rock band from Hamilton, Ontario. They were formed in 2019 and this is a follow up to their first self-released EP in 2020 "Got up Once".

"By Design" kicks off the album with some nice guitar and instantly you can tell this is well produced. Then the vocals come in and Carmen's voice is decent though I wasn't overwhelmed, It isn't helped by lyrics like "Made it alive...with a faceful of road signs." Sounds painful. "I'm broken glass and you just love to dance on me." Again sounds painful. Shortly followed by "I am made of glass and you got a hold of me." I don't know... the vocals just made me cringe a few times. However, the guitar work is good on this track.

"Talk to Me" has a very catchy and memorable verse with some great guitar riffing and some nice lead licks but after Carmen yells "Take it and go" I was expecting a kick-ass solo which sadly never arrived. Oh well.

The lead guitar on "At a loss" sounded like a strangled cat and stood out for me due to the generally excellent guitar work on the album. Lyrics like "Your black and blue sunset is bursting with red." didn't help either and jarred me from what was generally an unforgettable track.

A country style slide guitar intro opens up "Long Haul Blues" which at over 5 ½ minutes is the second longest track on the EP but is a bit of a haul to get through. Carmen's vocals just irritated me due to their screechiness but having said that, the lead guitar over the pulsating rhythm guitar towards the end of the track is a definite highlight of the song and the EP. It made me want to bang my head and tap my feet and was one of the more memorable moments.

"Undermine/Overthrow" is the penultimate track and is the fastest track on the album, has some nice guitar and rhythm but is generally unmemorable. The last track "Goddess of the Sun" is the longest track (by mere seconds) but is the most wearing, It kind of starts as a ballad and then picks up the pace but again with lyrics like "I slept in my jacket and my jeans last night...It's how I sleep...but I can't get it right" made me cringe and the song just felt dull and unmemorable. Carmen's background vocals also get in the way of her main vocals on this track.

SHOT DOWN TWICE's 2^nd EP then fails to excite. There are a couple of memorable moments with the best track being "Talk to Me" and the latter guitar work on "Long Haul Blues" being noteworthy. Unfortunately, though there are too may cringy lyrics and forgettable tunes to make this anything more than just average.