Small Black. I was put on to these guys by a friend, whom I have decided has very good taste in music. That aside, currently I have a sympathetic ear for anything melancholic. That is not to say that Small Black are dreary, but this Summer has started in such a (expectantly) awkward manor. Cherishing the fits and starts of good weather that only a true British holidaying season can provide leaves a pining for warmer climes. This is were Small Black offer salutation, as like Caribou (who possess a very Euro-chill vibe) this band want you to be having careless fun, on Long Island beach with friends, and a bonfire.
On the back of releasing their self-titled EP they are currently touring around the usual cities of England, y'know, London, Leeds, Brighton. If you want to feel happy for an hour or so then definitely go and be swept away. Bad Lover is grungy and muffled, with a simple drum machine pattern, much-like my choice track Pleasant Experience. It just stenches of surf-enthused riffs and delicately handled production. The tenderness of the backing harmonies make this a very pretty song. Lo-Fi is seemingly the only way to make music now, as anything else, mainstream stuff, just seems too over-polished and glossy. It makes it tacky. Home-made authenticity is really desirable.
These New Yorkers seem to be good chums with fellow compatriots Washed Out, who have 80's-a-fied Despicable Dogs. The re-worked version has a heavier, dance-ish beat backing it up, with more reverb and echo on the vocals. That is not to say that the original is weak, much the opposite - it's great. Untouched D-Dogs keeps the upbeat tone that the rest of this EP releases.
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