Sunday, January 14, 2007

Second Soul EP

Souls on Board - Blood Face EP (Low Transit Industries)

I wasn't sure about Souls on Board's debut EP. It was very short (three real tracks), and while there was the surfed-out drive of How to Make a Fire, there was also unconvincing alt-rock (Hand) and kinda gimmicky Doors-style in Oh These Walls!

But potential, and a solid live show, got me into the next EP. And from the first track, that's a good decision. Where the Dance Is may be an unwieldy name but it's a really good track, a perfectly produced almost-krautrock stomper with excellent guitar lines; just psychy enough while retaining a beautiful tone.

This guitar sound, drawn out of the instrument by Finn Keane's recording and Anthony Petrucci's deft fingers, is the icing the EP. Just to the cleaner side of psych-surf, with enough reverb to fill the mix, and some great chords - I love the up-and-down progression of the chorus in Fingers. Underneath, it's the seething rhythm section, Simon Edwards' pacy drums and some bubbling bass lines, as we see in the garagey speed-punk of This City's Full of Spies. At less than two minutes, it's completely different from the full-bodied jams of previous tracks, but pulled off with simple panache.

There's blissed-out keyboard crawl in Souls on Board before kicking back hard into Don't Let Them Say It Be So, another quicky punky track with a new-wave shouted chorus. Ignore the self-indulgent though strangely appropriate closer, a self-recorded noodle from Petrucci.

Melbourne has plenty of buzz bands but Souls on Board actually know chords, crafting songs rather than dumping energetic disposable pap. I'd compare them with Yo La Tengo if that wasn't a ridiculous and onerous comparison for a young band. But good things will come from these minds.

[got to their myspace and listen to Where the Dance Is]

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