EP reviews for the Month of February and monthly update.
Hello again, this is probably coming out in April as I's currently March 20th and I still have seven albums and four EPs to get through. I'll be honest with you, dear reader, February made me rethink a lot of this new strategy to the blog. There was quite a bit of albums in a row I honestly didn't feel anything about one way or the other, but I remain committed to this for the time being. We're still pretty active on MusicBoard if you want the reviews a bit early. There's quite a bit here queued so check back every weekday and we should be in an even streak for the year now.
In other news with me, I'm working on quite a few personal projects, even outside of AsterTracks, and am looking to make some overall life improvements this year. I hope you're doing well and have been more invested in the release year than I have. I have my eyes on some March releases, it's looking like a much more exciting month for the type of music I enjoy.
Until next time, here are some thoughts about the EPs from the second month of the year. Remember to follow us on MusicBoard and follow the AsterTracks playlist on Spotify, being updated constantly week after week.
Self-Titled by Mystery Dungeons released via Now and Forever
I listened to this multiple times in one day then reviewed it solely on the promise of emo chiptune.
Mystery Dungeon's self-titled” debut opens with “Birthday,” a song with a fairly decent emo verse as an intro. Where this EP starts being something to write home about is when they do the chiptune drop. The production on track one is really exciting especially when it’s brought out after a more relaxed vibe becomes more upbeat. Later in the track Mystery Dungeons shows they understand what works so well about their presentation. The last vocal passage into the final beat is something I’d love to catch at a set someday. “Root Beer Guy” has more of the fusion between the two worlds with constant electronics enhancing a twinkly and heartfelt instrumental. The vocals here are just as hard hitting and the rhythm section is floor ready.
I really love the use of samples on this project. “‘Support Trans Women’” is the record’s interlude and makes clever use of a conversation about commercial breaks. It’s all sort of meta, yes, because the interlude on a project like this is sort of like a commercial break itself. Then finally Mario’s classic “bye bye” ends the EP. This was a very fun, quick listen and I look forward to more from this artist in the future.
mealworm’s self-titled EP released independently
Thank You, I’m Sorry’s Colleen Dow is fronting this new three-piece band who has released their three-track, debut EP. There is so much going on right out of the gate, “meal plans” opens with a guitar bit so raw it could be from a demo, but I think in feeling incomplete it completes the entire track. Lyrically this one starts as a track about rationing money to survive paycheck to paycheck, which, relatable I started a budgeting notebook this week. This takes a hard right turn on the second passage where Colleen talks about friends who’ve passed away and how they can’t move for themselves anymore, which really spoke to me. Someone gone can only dance for you now, they can’t make moves which will impact themselves, they’re remembered how we remember them. The entire track is about every little thing we do throughout the day to try to stay happy and healthy but doing these things knowing it’s all going to catch up with you eventually.
Watch my dead friends dance for me, counting every single step, pretending they could breathe.
And I cried for you and for me. Pretending you could hear me again just for me.
“Stick n poke” continues the narrative, wishing someone were there to call, to live the life they were meant to. You can ultimately forget they aren’t around anymore but just like your mental stability in the first track it will catch up to you when you get a little too comfortable in the whole thing. All of this to the backdrop of a fun, yet bleak, little emo track.
We change up the sound on “takeout receipts,” which uses some playful synth and a very bare guitar tone finalizing the emotion of the whole thing. When you’re alone it hits the hardest, everything around you is some connection to a time passed.
I’m a bit more lenient with EP scores but I think this is as good as one is going to get. I couldn’t really find any issues at all with this little record and it’s a gutting, grounding listen.
MP3 Kitty by MIDI Bunny released independently
Coming down from their self-titled EP and now the brand-new single released this past Friday, MIDI Bunny is proving to be an incredible band in the DIY space. Their sophomore project promises to be more synth-based and laid back than the previous full-band emo showing, and they succeed at this exceedingly well. Simple as it may be, these two know how to write a song, catchy vocal melodies sound really nice over some simple synth keys. Sometimes a little pop or twist in the background or production will just feel like a nice little surprise and make the song all the more enjoyable. Something I loved about the self-titled was how so many choruses had this huge rock energy and here it’s there but it’s just a bit more mellowed out. “Nici fly away to portland” is a perfect middle ground between the two, it makes you feel like you’re in for something huge and while you get it, they take some strolls along the way. The fast riffs with the moody bass lines are a wonderful combo, it all feels like a walk in the springtime sun.
The duo, in general, were really not afraid to try things out on this one. The spoken word vocals and nearly heavy synth work on “back again” sound like it comes from a screamo band but the edge never comes. No one’s really taking near chances like this. “Permanent brainfog” is a rockabilly song showing once again these two were cooking anything they could here. There’s a hip hop verse on “ALMOND.” Anything and everything were fair game on this EP and it’s all worthwhile.
MIDI Bunny are quickly becoming one of my favorite new bands. The original EP was good, between these and the other single the catalog is proving to be great. There are of course some areas to improve, a vocal here and there, some songs or moments who maybe could have been trimmed, but honestly this is a fantastic second showing and I’m eager for a full-length.
Magical Lies by En Attendant Anna released via Sup Pop
Last year this Parisian band released Principia, a full length I got a lot of mileage out of, but we didn’t cover here. While not technically an EP I thought it appropriate still to review in this setting.
The title track here has the exact sonics which kept me coming back to the last album. The breezy guitar and indie rock stylings are so much fun to listen to and are made more sophisticated by a smooth vocal delivery. This track could slot right in there. If you asked me passively where this interlude was, I wouldn’t be able to tell you. It sounds so natural alongside the first song I believe this could have really been a double single with the second track blurred as an outro.
“Teeny Tiny Tyche” is the other new track and much more enticing to me. This one has quite a bit of curveballs, some great horns and a different take on a vocal melody for this band. My only issue, if you could call it one, is the “eenie meanie miny moe” bar. I don’t really know what in the process makes you arrive there, but I think it doesn’t not fit, just feels a bit strange.
Drop 7 by Little Simz released via Forever Living Originals
I wasn’t a huge fan of Sometimes I Might be Introvert, the 2021 Little Simz record. Introvert was well thought out, had grand production, a lot of insightful introspection and was really well received. Where it fell flat for me was it was a bit too lost in being so large in scale and felt a little bloated at sixty-five minutes. I wasn’t even aware there was an album afterwards so to me this is a re-introduction to this artist.
This new project opens with “Mood Swings,” a song which sets out to prove Simz can have it all. While I’m not totally sure I understand what’s being talked about here I do feel this production is the perfect backdrop to this flow and melody. The beat itself spirals and circles around Simz to paint a bit of a picture of the inside of her head at the time of writing and it really works out.
Not just “Mood Swings,” every song here is tight, to the point, she makes it and gets out. There’s usually some sort of instrumental break making way for the end of the whole thing. A lot of the instrumentals sort of serve the same purpose, even “Power,” the shortest yet most effective. But still they’re all pretty effective and get you rallied up to their mood.
“SOS” is a bit of a curveball for the EP in working sort of in reverse to the other cuts. Instead of a simplistic beat working around her this one is an interlude and uses her voice as a part of its greater self. It’s smack dab in the middle of the project as well so it’s a really welcome break.
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