(Beard Museum, 2011)The Address is a well crafted collection of songs which compliment and flow into one another. At a scant 16 minutes in length, it sometimes feels like it’s over before it has begun but repeated listens reveal an EP which ebbs and flows with quiet meditations giving way to bursts of energy. ‘The Address’, fittingly, most typifies this formula and is the best platform for Liam’s voice which is subtly emotive while the inventive drum work in the ‘The Family That Couldn’t Sleep’ lends the song a sense of underlying frustration. ‘When Did You Go Blind?’ is the highlight and perhaps the most simple; the combined effect of the organ, bass line and breathy backing vocal is decidedly autumnal and the song has an understated elegance akin to Mercury Rev’s ‘Tides of the Moon’. While there are certainly elements of The National and Arcade Fire in these songs, the overall tone suggests Elbow are a strong influence. Give it a few plays and you’ll find that The Address has spoken to you.
[Originally printed in Oxfordshire Music Scene magazine, issue 12, February 2011)
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