We wrote about teaser track Peppermint back in July. This month we’ve been able to hear the debut Flirting EP. Titled “This Would Be Funny If It Were Happening To Anyone But Me” it’s certainly not what we expected, in a good way.
Opener “Yum” takes a minute to get going with a repeating guitar line setting the stage before it is joined by the full band and one of three vocalists, Arthur Davies Evitt.
There is a lot of space created by washed out guitar sounds and delayed “ahhs” from vocalist Poppy Waring who then takes over on the chorus.
The drums become more scattered as the second verse begins and the song builds into another chorus, after which the song really takes off. The lyrics exude confusion and anxiety.
There is a new version of “Peppermint” with a spoken word intro from another vocalist in the band, Andrew Potter. This version is perhaps better produced than the single version, the band sounding tighter, the drums more powerful. So far, pretty much along the lines of what we expected.
Then comes the bizarre poetry and backwards backing of “Interlude”. It’s just over a minute long but it suggests there is more up this bands sleeve than we initially realised. “Lilac” floats along a synthesizer loop and once again demonstrates the band’s penchant for crescendo. The lyrics about anxiety and insomnia. This, along with the opening track is almost a post-rock vignette… with vocals.
Final track “In The Dark” has a Bjork-like feel to it. It may well be our highlight. Waring’s vocals stretch over an industrial electronic drum beat, the band again slowly building piece by piece before the electronic drums play a rolling skittery beat, the vocals becoming heavily effected with delay. This is a wonderfully weird and woozy ending.
“This Would Be Funny If It Were Happening To Anyone But Me” is out on 8th October.
You may like this if you are a fan of: Life Without Buildings, Los Campesinos!, Sonic Youth
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