Exeter's indiepop scene has spawned another bunch of rickety melodic strummers, although it looks like The Thought Clouds comprise of members who've done time in other bands in the past. 'Wrong Key' is their debut EP together though, and will be followed by a debut album which is currently in production and hopefully will be ready before the year's out. Leo Collett is the man who takes care of writing and vocal duties, (with Evie Collett providing original artwork) and the sound of these songs fits nicely onto the roster of Pastime Records, mirroring other groups' love of retro indie but varying in style. There's acoustic live track 'Some Things Never Change' which is all the better for its simplicity, and an unnamed secret track which is slightly trippy, combining backwards recordings and strange laughter to paint an odd dreamscape.
The clue to the EP's focus comes in its title. 'Wrong Key' is an amalgamation of two songs: 'Wrong' and 'Find The Key'. The former is lo-fi pop that is enriched by washes of synth and a nice guitar solo which help offset the sadness that comes through in the lyrics, while 'Find The Key' might be the most instant hit here, featuring buzz-saw guitar and a near-live vibe to it, something that adds life. Often with lo-fi recordings like this, some of that spark can be put out by production which ends up leaving it all a bit flat, but this fizzes out of the speakers. The last song (barring the hidden track) is 'Book'. Here we find a mixture of '60s pop and nods to idiosyncratic British songwriters of the past. A nice introduction to a promising new project.
The Thought Clouds' website
Buy the EP
Follow The Sound Of Confusion on Facebook or Twitter
contact@thesoundofconfusion.com
No comments:
Post a Comment