Out now is the ‘out of interest’ ep from Indie band We Were Promised Jetpacks. The band hail from Edinburgh, Scotland and their ep is available on various listening platforms, including ITunes, Spotify and Bandcamp.
Opener ‘When Getting Lost’ is a spacious and atmospheric start to the ep. The vocals have a desolate beauty to them, reminiscent of Ian Curtis of Joy Division, Morrissey and Mark Kozelek of Red House Painters, but with a sense of individuality and authenticity as the Edinburgh brogue of the vocals shines through. The unhurried pace of this tune means that the meandering and shimmering guitar is given time to flourish. The almost Slowcore rhythm of this tune, generated by the bass and drums, helps to enhance mood and tone.
Follow on ‘Same Mistakes’ ha a slightly more aggressive and noisy approach musically and slightly faster tempo, promoting light and shade and contrast with the first tune. The ambience is deliciously mournful with the guitar verging into Shoegaze territory. The bass and drums harness some creative ideas and drive the tune in an interesting, anthemic direction.
With ‘Not Wanted’, a warbling and slightly unhinged guitar kicks off this tune, but as it progresses there is a mellower and lighter soundscape created. This slips from distortion and guitar effects to a sparser musical backdrop, so the vocals can soar and belt, aping an instrument. There’s a breakdown towards the end of the song, more vocal driven, which sets the listener up for a spacy, otherworldly guitar finale.
‘Impossible’ is a jangly, crunchy Alternative-Rock tune, which smoulders and builds from a fiery instrumental intro to a downbeat but memorable Indiepop-orientated verse to an explosively fierce wall of guitar noise and emotionally projected vocals. This tune is perhaps the most memorable on the ep, owing to its intensity.
Closing track ‘Miles Away’ is the perfect way to end the ep. A downbeat departure with all the pop sensibility of Indie bands of old, such as The Smiths and Embrace. A well realised vocal part complemented by a groove aids this tune in it’s bounce. Noisier guitar parts, juicy power chords, plus cleaner guitar solos kick in, giving this song variety. There are elements of Experimental/Post-Rock bands such as Slint and Mogwai as this ep crunches and weaves to a close.
Out of interest EP is out now via Big Scary Monsters
