Justin Melton Bradley

The EP holds a peculiar place in today’s musical landscape; it can range from three tracks to more than eight, and is all but ignored by the popular community. It is seldom used as an indicator of artistic achievement, and is far too long to hold the excitement of a single; instead the EP is relegated to the position of ‘practice album’ to be bought by those too cheap to buy the full album.

And yet here on Stolen Recordings, the same people who brought you Pete & the Pirates, we have the perfect distillation of pop into six tracks.

I should be a little careful calling this particular record a perfect distillation of pop; the first few minutes alone will reveal that it is a total mess, albeit an intentional one at that. Taking the sound of The Cribs and removing all the needless commercial sheen (wait...what?) what you are left with is a band that sound like they’ve been recorded playing from slightly too far away.

The beauty of the music they’re offering shouldn’t be ignored; Music is My Girlfriend, perhaps inspired by the lyrics of CSS, is the standout track that borders on the ridiculous; “It’s not cool to like Leo Sayer/So I won’t like Leo Sayer”. I Won’t Lie to You in particular shows lessons learned and a marked improvement on earlier single Song for an ABBA Tribute Record (which thankfully does not feature on this EP). Insects is easily the finest offering on the record; Wesley Patrick Gonzalez’s voice is more tender than anywhere else, and the lyrics themselves are deeper.

The number of hooks, and breakdowns you will hear on each and every track border on cliché, which can be disappointing at times; but there is enough to warrant continued enjoyment. And with the practice album out the way, we can hope to hear a real album soon; but who cares? The EP is fine as it is, and don’t you forget it!

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