Rating: NNNN
Well, this is a relief. I was beginning to think that every indie band in Canada had turned into introspective, melancholy folkies. Sleepless Nights’ digital-download-only four-song EP (the second in a series of three, available on their website) brings a tsunami of catchy rock ‘n’ roll into this barren January landscape. It’s full of thunderous drumming, smart guitar and synth riffs and sharp arrangements.
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The Halifax quartet went for an energetic production style that really translates. Opener Everybody’s Dancing steadily adds one great layer after another before bursting into a singalong chorus. The two middle songs, one of which is instrumental, are darker but just as memorable. Fans of Joel Plaskett will enjoy You Don’t Anymore’s repeating final chorus, which sounds very much like him.
And while final tune Politics Part 1 has grating, scenester-focused lyrics that almost ruin the EP for me, its bombastic drum-crazy ending makes everything okay again.
Top track: Everybody’s Dancing
