Barclay & Ichinose
Barclay & Ichinose I E.P.

Talking about Barclay & Ichinose I is not easy. Let's start by saying that listeners certainly fall into three categories:

- Those who listened and loved it
- Those who listened and hated it
- Those who are wondering “who the hell are these guys?”

So, let me introduce the band, a duo, consisting of Joe Simon Barclay (vocals, guitar, keyboards, and occasionally bass) and Randy Ichinose (vocals, drums, percussion, production, and occasionally guitar and bass) both composers, but with very different musical tastes.
The first appreciates progressive rock, citing bands such as Genesis and King Crimson among his inspirations, as well as Beatles, Beach Boys, and Led Zeppelin. Ichinose, on the other hand, leans more towards The Who, Kinks, Small Faces, Fugazi, Circle Takes The Square, and even post-rock bands like This Will Destroy You and Explosion In The Sky.

What could result if not an interesting album?

The production is very '60s, intentionally crafted by the band to highlight the warmth of the instruments and to make their music sound “like that of the golden age,” which obviously has both positive and negative aspects but certainly helps to distinguish the band's sound.
The album opens with Five Out Of Four, an instrumental song featuring the keyboard and drums (notice how Ichinose's drumming closely resembles Keith Moon's live performances; by the way, no hi-hats are used throughout the album) with continuous tempo changes. The piece isn't bad—it’s a great start.
Following is A Nail In My Head, perhaps the most controversial track on the album as it combines classic Blues Rock instrumentals with a typically Punk voice. Overall, it's a good piece but can easily be disliked by “purists,” potentially being the bottleneck of this work.

Life Is Passing By is a slow track, with a very warm and reverb-rich atmosphere (almost reminiscent of early '90s Shoegazing productions). The song is definitely very enjoyable (especially thanks to the central change) although it seems to never quite “take off.”
(the Clown) And The Giant Other Side, on the other hand, is the song that impressed me the most. This time, we hear Randy Ichinose on vocals. The piece is divided into two major parts, the first with '60s pop sounds in The Who style, alternating with decidedly darker phases, all tied together by a nonsensical and quite unsettling lyric (the brief use of scream is also highly appreciated). The second part could be described as a mix between psychedelic music and post-rock with a first guitar solo by Ichinose and a second on Slide Guitar by Joe Barclay. Also noteworthy is the use of the mellotron, again by Joe.
Don’t Let Them closes the album in the best way. It’s a slow piece, with lyrics inspired by Orwell's book 1984. The atmosphere is then broken by a truly interesting progressive-style bridge.

In conclusion:

The ideas are there in abundance and the band is valid, but this EP fails to take off despite everything. Even though the band looks back at the past a lot, this is not a flaw since the group still manages to infuse a lot of personality, also incorporating clearly more recent inspirations (as I mentioned, I really appreciated the use of scream, even if brief). A group that certainly has a lot to say, I rate this EP 3/5, but I would see it more as a 6.5-7/10.