The fact that this EP was released on Valentine’s Day feels particularly fitting, as it suggests that its creation must have been a labour of love.
It opens with a 56-second instrumental piece called Drift. We say instrumental, but the track is peppered with atmospheric and incidental recordings that perfectly capture the sensation of unfettered joy and wanton abandon. If we have half as much fun listening to this EP as it sounds like the people in the vicinity of the microphone had here, then we’ll have enjoyed it very, very much.
This takes us to Bedroom, which, when it begins, feels like it will be a folky number. With gorgeous vocal interplay, minimal acoustic guitar and sparse bass accompaniment, it sets the tone for something that never really comes. The acoustic guitar picks up the pace, the bass morphs into sounding like Kim Deal, the vocals distorted, and so do the guitars. Suddenly, we’re in grunge-pop territory. How the fuck did we get here?! Who knows. Glad we came, though.
When I’m With You begins with another Pixies-esque bassline, but the rest of the song has a sweetness that reminds us a bit of The Velvet Underground classic I’m Sticking With You and a little bit of Belle & Sebastian. It’s cute, quaint, and charming, but frankly, it’s rather at odds with what came before it. But we love a bit of that.
Up next is Molly, and there’s a touch of the Mike Dean/Kanye West MBDTF production combo sound, at least at the start. The super-saturated guitars cut right through the mix and force their way to centre stage. There’s also a beautiful organ at play throughout, and the drums chop and change between nicely subdued and somewhat bombastic. On paper, it sounds kind of mental. But in reality, it’s perfectly balanced audible chaos.
The title track is up next and is a laid-back, sonically soothing affair. It’s part Elliott Smith, part acoustic grunge, part The Cure, part The National (specifically Terrible Love – listen out for the backing vocals) and really, really, really good. The instrumentation is compelling – almost tense – in its discipline in the verses. When the chorus hits, the release is right on time. Special shout out to the synth strings on this track, which is the star of the show in a show full of stars.
At only 11 minutes and 41 seconds, this little EP achieves what some people spend an entire career trying to accomplish. It does multiple things exceptionally well while always sounding like George Dillon. This really is a revelation.
Written by Kinda Grizzly
