Having recently discussed a record that listed a bunch of influences that were almost unrecognisable to the music made, London-based quartet The Shallows redress the balance by stating that their tunes sound a bit like The Strokes, Two Door Cinema Club, and The Maccabees. So you're probably thinking landfill indie circa 2010 and that there won't be much to see here. Well, granted, the sound they make isn't a new one, but it's not totally generic; they're sailing on safe and familiar waters but new EP 'Same Space Vol. 2' doesn't fall short when it comes to good songs. How much of an appetite there is for a record like this at the present time is open to debate, but then we, probably like the band, aren't particularly bothered with following the latest trends, preferring to weigh up the merits of a record on whether it's any good, not whether the NME are likely to be giving them a front cover any time soon.
That list of bands can all be heard in opening track 'Thieves' which also sounds like an ever so slightly poppier Gang Of Four. These are snappy guitar songs with melodies that are radio-friendly and easy to digest. The sense is that The Shallows would rather write songs for people to listen to than for them to study. It's easy to imagine that, had they arrived a few years earlier, this band could be enjoying a similar amount of success to Two Door Cinema Club. All of these tracks will appeal to fans of pop and also less snobby fans of guitar music. 'Guessing Games' has a chorus that would sound at home on bigger stages than the regular toilet circuit; the same could be said about 'Running For Cover', while 'The Enemy' sounds, thankfully, nothing like the band of the same name and shows that they can make things that bit more epic when needed. These are well-written songs that could easily have commercial appeal. There is potential here for The Shallows to make that step up to the next level, but unfortunately this could be dictated by those fickle trends.
The Shallows' website
Stream or download the EP
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