Weekend

Sneaking out at the end of last year, Weekend's debut album Sports should have made more waves than it did. Those who did hear it were won over with their dense yet fresh take on post-punk noise, but their new EP, Red, sees the San Francisco band charting a slightly new course. It isn't that Weekend have dialled down the noisiness of their music, they've just learned a greater level of control. They are still using the same palette, but they are painting much more vividly than before. With just five tracks, Red is merely a taste of what lies ahead for Weekend. It starts off with "Sweet Sixteen" which is closest in spirit to their debut, but then comes along "Hazel" with its classic shoegazing take on a pop song. Its swirling sweetness is the most accessible moment the band have penned to date, but they revert back to their eerie ways again as the EP comes to an end. Or to put it another way, things are looking very good indeed for album number two when it arrives next year.