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Rating:
Why am I reviewing this E.P.? Because I listen to a lot of independent music, and this young Italian band has managed to impress me (both positively and negatively).
Let's start by saying that Barclay & Ichinose is a duo (no way?) consisting of Joe Simon Barclay (vocals, guitar, keyboard, bass) and Randy Ichinose (drums, second voice, guitar, bass, production).
The musical genre is a mix of various others, among which 60s pop and 70s rock stand out. Thus, it's not too surprising that the strongly 60s production the band offers us (with its related pros and cons).
The album opens with the instrumental Five Out Of Four, not too long and with interesting changes, a piece I would highly rate. A Nail In My Head is a classic and predictable blues rock with a funny lyric (oh it made me smile...), the voice can be either appealing to you or utterly awful, and I found the piano truly excessive and at times annoying.
Life Is Passing By stumbles a bit, but I appreciated the atmosphere created by the heavy reverb and the central part.
(the Clown) And The Giant Other Side is the only song on the record that features Ichinose as a soloist, a mix of early Who-style pop with inspired changes and an ending in true post-rock style.
The E.P. concludes with Don't Let Them, a ballad with lyrics inspired by Orwell and an interlude with progressive traits.
In conclusion, an E.P. I wanted to propose because the band has, in my opinion, good potential, but they haven’t quite managed to make the most of it in this work. Album at times rushed.
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By Breakd0wn!
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.'
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.
