"Another Life" kicks things off for us with this anticipatory rock tone but just ever so lightly. The vocals are deep and meaningful, with words unexpectedly verbose. The chorus brings on harmonies (this Muse with less echo) and everything musically drops right back down afterwords. I keep waiting for this to pick up and be a huge powerful rock song, but things stay just so, almost like an intense heart beat getting into and letting go in the building. This feels like a concert - and that's a great thing.
The next one has a lighter timbre, with almost what sounds like a different set of vocals. But that's just how it is sometimes. "Theres A Glow" (according to Spotify there's a lack of apostrophe there…) has a scratchier feel to it, with more layer to the vocals. It honestly songs more like the instruments are rubbing against the speakers instead of playing naturally on their own turf. It's really a strange sensation to hear.
"The Long Haul" is a little more intense. That deeper voice is back and it's almost haunting against this slow, methodical music it's laid over. There's some elements of love there in the lyrics, but overall this song just leaves me with this creepy lingering feel that I would really appreciate being able to shake before I go to bed this evening.
And then we're back to sort of happy-go-lucky again! "Big Waves" is a pretty sweet little rock song. The vocals to the bridge are somewhat overpowering, and the morse code underneath is giving me a little bit of a headache. But overall, the song's got a much more pleasant tone than the last few, so who am I to really complain? Things are moving along really nicely in this one, so we'll just let them keep moving. It might be too loud at a show and too much to take, but for now, it's a got a glimmer of California rock and good times.
"Coming Down" brings in this whole electronic element that was completely unexpected. Things just don't sound like they naturally come out of an instrument here - everything sounds like it's out of a computer. I suppose it's okay, I'm just struggling to figure out this band. The vocal sound is the same, so there's some connection.
Okay, so is it me or do you hear playground sounds during "Stay With Me"? It's just back there somehow. The rest is simply strums and vocals keeping it going. The sounds eventually fade out… wait, maybe they're just the sound of nails going up or down a steel guitar string. Regardless, the song pulses on, doing that same sort of slight building without every really popping into a huge rock song. And the weird thing for me here is that it really does feel like an ending song - the placement on the EP is positively perfect.
Added To My Playlist:
- "Another Life"
- "Stay With Me"
So that went far quicker than I expected going in. I know, I know, it's an EP and they generally go fast. But that just flowed so well and right along. The music was up and down emotionally, which worked given the tone of this band. Definitely a unique situation happening here, and that could really work to their advantage.