The Portland shoe-gazers take things in a more organically jammed direction. There is a brooding underbelly to the verse that finds them taking off in a more stoner rock direction. The dreamy vocals counterbalance when they dig and go into more aggressive riffs that steer toward a more metal direction. But one heavy riff does not make a band metal. There is a brighter, almost 90s glaze to "Torn Reckless." There is a drive to this one, and a swathe of sounds layered here, but it is not as sonically dense or heavy as the first track.
This is fine as the EP carries a dynamic breadth, which is important when there are only four songs in the presentation, as all of them need to count. So it's interesting that they end this EP with a cover, but we will get to that later"Fate is Forward" finds the lilted vocals coasting over the backbone the bass provides, as the song takes on a more deliberate rock throb. I can't praise the production enough, and tell you how perfect all the tones are. The mix is a masterclass for this kind of rock-based shoegaze, as it's organic yet heavy, with all of the sound given its rightful place, which can be a lot to work with as synths coexist with the guitar in a similar sonic zip code.
This is one of Radiohead's more notable post-"Ok Computer" songs. It might be the best song on "In Rainbows' and an interesting choice of a song for the band to cover. They capture the groove, then the vocals do Yorke's melodies and mood justice without becoming a tribute band. I was unsure about how I was going to feel about this one when I saw it was being done and not dropping the song title on you, so there are no spoilers in that regard, but they do a great job with it and capture the spirit of the song. I will give this EP a 10. I wish this were a full-length, but if they are making you want more, then something is working. Out on Suicide Squeeze Records.
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