 The
Party
"It's The Small Things That Keep You Awake" CDR
EP
Colchester
Recordings
Genres: lo-fi
The Party
124A Old Road
Clacton-On-Sea,
Essex, C015 3AH
UK
Jul 7 - 15 2003 |
How
is it that a band like Arab Strap can have so much success with
the drum machine, yet The Party just ends up seeming corny
and cheap? Maybe it's because The Party stick "lo-fi
by necessity not design" on the back of their EP. How
pretentious is that? You can at least have a little faith in
your genre, for gosh sakes.
Regardless, though, that's what The Party have chosen to
say, and that's what we're stuck with. On It's The Small
Things..., we're treated to a selection of lo-fi pop songs trying
to be bigger than they really are. The only tune that actually
succeeds is the one that makes an effort to be minimal and relatively
simple, "Pious Ex-Smoker." Its catchy
keyboard-and-guitar interplay makes for a cute little ditty that uses
singer James Scott's voice very well. The other tunes
often seem awkward, with Scott's deep vocals contrasting the
music poorly.
All in all, this six-song EP is brief for a reason - other than
"Pious Ex-Smoker," The Party just don't seem to have
much to say.
68%
Matt Shimmer [Vitals:
6 tracks, distributed by the
label, released 2002] |
