By Gary Munday •
April 8, 2009
Wise Children EP
Death, pills and blood, but in a nice way, mind.
The singer sounds like such a tender
little psychopath. Aww, bless. Presumably, we should all thank our
tasty, succulent blood cells that it’s just the power of narrative,
otherwise we get a little concerned that we’ll be the next in line to
be found dead in the bath, swimming in our own Mortal Ribena. Crafting
soul-felt and gliding vocals that are rich and defined, there is a
certain clarity in the vocal style; all smooth edges and coolness. A
bit like a corpse.
Lyrics are frank and, for the most
part, clearly understood upon first listen (despite the moments of
abstract blood cell meandering). But past the messages of the front
man, the music sways towards the broken down, beautiful and intelligent
sounds that echo bands such as The Decemberists. Guitars are finger
picked and weave a healthy number of chords together, often in patterns
that should not work but somehow do. It is actually the guitar work
that lifts the whole outfit up into higher realms, playing credible yet
subtle ditties throughout.
Similar to killing, you’ll have to be
in the mood to listen to this release before you take on the
commitment. Finding out that a certain young lady’s skin colour is the
same as a pill can be a hard thing to swallow (arf), so it isn’t really
something you’ll be itching to listen to on a sunny day when you’ve
been promoted at work
However, if you’ve had a busy day
slaughtering the neighbours and preparing the limbs for a casserole,
this could be the sort of chillout acoustic alternative-pop you’ve been
looking for.¹
Be sure to pad up your soul before entering, as Wise Children are deceptively dark.
You can buy the EP from RawRip here: http://www.rawrip.com/wisechildren
¹ MURDERER!
*Original can be found here : http://www.mintsouth.com/2009/04/review-wise-children-ep/