New York City power-pop trio Wild Pink return with the aptly titled four-song EP 4 Songs, their third since 2015.
It opens with the atmospheric, nearly percussion-less track "4th of July," a pleasant, satisfying assemblage of layered finger-picking guitar and soft vocals, even if it seems like it was birthed from a studio loop pedal experiment. The album then shifts gears to the band's usual tricks. "Forlim Chop" provides some of the more interesting ideas, varying in both intensity and tempo, while "The Believer," one of the band's heavier tracks, ends the EP with a distortion-laden rock out, and the somewhat uninspiring refrain of "Everyone looks exactly the same."
The EP checks all the boxes on the power-pop checklist — big crunchy power chords, cymbal-heavy percussion, a feedback fadeout and background vocal "oohs," but the production on the final three tracks is a bit stale, feeling fundamentally like the same arrangement and dynamics from song to song.
That's a problem; ultimately, 4 Songs leaves the listener feeling like they still don't quite know Wild Pink. A good EP should provide a taste of a band, leaving listeners begging for a full-length release, and while 4 Songs occasionally hints at cohesion, more often than not, it may lead those searching for their new indie rock heroes elsewhere.
(Tiny Engines)It opens with the atmospheric, nearly percussion-less track "4th of July," a pleasant, satisfying assemblage of layered finger-picking guitar and soft vocals, even if it seems like it was birthed from a studio loop pedal experiment. The album then shifts gears to the band's usual tricks. "Forlim Chop" provides some of the more interesting ideas, varying in both intensity and tempo, while "The Believer," one of the band's heavier tracks, ends the EP with a distortion-laden rock out, and the somewhat uninspiring refrain of "Everyone looks exactly the same."
The EP checks all the boxes on the power-pop checklist — big crunchy power chords, cymbal-heavy percussion, a feedback fadeout and background vocal "oohs," but the production on the final three tracks is a bit stale, feeling fundamentally like the same arrangement and dynamics from song to song.
That's a problem; ultimately, 4 Songs leaves the listener feeling like they still don't quite know Wild Pink. A good EP should provide a taste of a band, leaving listeners begging for a full-length release, and while 4 Songs occasionally hints at cohesion, more often than not, it may lead those searching for their new indie rock heroes elsewhere.