Apparently happy for their impending greatness to quietly seep into the greater public conscience, enigmatic London-based trio THE EARLY YEARS continue to plug away and follow up their fine debut album with a convincing new EP of all-new material.
The title track is the pulse racer. One of those delirious, Spiritualized-meets-New Order rushing runs (see also the likes of ‘The Simple Solution’) that they’re getting very adept at, it’s apparently a burgeoning live favourite and that’s no surprise as it’s unusually immediate, brevity-conscious and chase-cutting by TEY’S usual spacy standards. And it’s certainly one the worse for that.
The rest of the EP sticks close to the band’s perhaps more natural introspective streak. ‘On Fire’ initially sounds like it could almost be from Death In Vegas’s under-rated ‘Satan’s Circus’ with its’ Kraftwerkian lilt, but the forlorn choirboy vocals are instantly recognisable in TEY lore (I still can’t tell who’s who vocally, mind) and the way the live drums batter in mid-way helps elevate the track to a whole different plane altogether.
The high standard is maintained with ease by the third track ‘Autumn Song’, which gently kindles a fire in your heart with its’ brushed drums, piano and crestfallen guitars. The gentle harmonies again blend nicely in an untroubled kinda way and by the time its’ winding down you’re beginning to feel it favourably evoking the season of change its’ name implies. In fact, if the EP ended there it would be just about perfect, but the meandering and rather unnecessary ‘A Little More (Version 2)’ supersedes it and drones away for a few minutes in a gentle, but inessential fashion. If we’re being charitable, can we say ‘Talk Talk meets the plangent bits of their debut album?’ Oh, go on then. But don’t keep doing it indefinitely lads.
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Still, not a major copybook-blotter and with three cool tracks already in the bag, no real complaints from me. Mark my words: these perennial dark horses will come up on the rails before they’re finished, you know.
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