Hobbs’ overdriven and washed out guitar and vocal pairing drive the songs with a southern gothic mood that juxtaposes noisy, cynical musings of the modern age with old-timey foot-stomping country leads. It is a delightful stomp through a fuzzy range of musical styles and instruments, with complex arrangements that never lose a sense of fun. The track “Swipe Your Card” rings slightly reminiscent of Neutral Milk Hotel’s soaring brass over lo-fi electric weirdness, where “Fired Up For You” brings a driving, spaghetti western vibe.
The EP is adorned with slick instrumentation throughout, which is best showcased in the track ‘Darkest Black’ where the trumpet lead is woven masterfully with layers of noisy psychedelic guitars as the driving refrain of the chorus reaches an apex. There is a lot of attention paid to texture that shows in the production, where all the musical are crisp carefully layered in such a way that does not betray the swampy, lo-fi tone of the music.
Check out Lost Demos at the Wine Cellar tomorrow (Wednesday 22nd) with Ocean Beach. Check out the video for their song ‘Fired Up FOr You” here.
(LAURENCE DIACK)
