This EP starts off with “Chrome Killer”, a very dreamy and laid back intro. Now, when it comes to tracks like this, I usually start off by saying there isn’t to be taken from this. But in this case, I think this really ushers in the mood of this EP really nicely. Mort importantly though, it helps this EP feel very complete for a short piece. There are some psychedelic vibes as well as some great pulsating synths, but “Chrome Killer” is here for one reason and one reason only, and that’s to usher us into the world of Bad Bearth. And it does it very well. “No Daps” is up next, and this one gets seriously funky really fast. It’s minimal and all, but if I can groove to it, i certainly works for me. It’s actually funny to me, Bad Bearth found little old me through a Gorillaz and Maz Demarco review, and I can honestly see why. There are some serious old school Gorillaz vibes going on here, and there are certainly some slacker rock undertones that the Goofball Prince of Indie Mac Demarco himself would be proud of as well. What Bad Bearth do on tracks like “No Daps” is take a little sound and make it really become big, mostly due to the very hazy mood here. I love the loopy atmosphere that makes this one come off seriously animated and colorful, even though they continue to work with only a few instrumentals. It’s one of the more likable hazy atmospheres I’ve heard this year to be honest. There’s some indie rock in there, there are some elements of Trip Hop, and the repeated lyrics of “Ten feet tall” gives this one a glorious psychedelic undertone. The hazy atmosphere here however is broken if only or a moment by the very glossy “Ugly Baby, Born Dead”. Right off the bat I love the very glistening production here and the use of sampling. Honestly, I feel like the samples they chose here goes really well with their sound, hell I could have even used a little more of it. “Ugly Baby, Born Dead” has a very grand sound to it, this one has a little more hip hop influence to it but yer continues to come off seriously classy. Not to mention, as an avid fan of jazz rap I have to say those very jazzy horns that pop in in the background are a brilliant touch. It’s only a minute and 22 seconds, but it has some of the most memorable moments on here. “Disconnected” is up next, and the very glitchy and spaced out vibe continues to reign supreme. Tracks like this have just enough electronic vibe in those synthesizers to set this apart from other DIY indie rock that’s going on right now. It remains really smooth though, and while there’s less of a groove here I can’t seem to help but get caught up in this very laid back atmosphere. Hell, I’m about two minutes away from turning this up, putting on my headphones and taking a walk and letting the breeze flow through my glorious beard. Lyrically this isn’t too dense either, it actually brings me right back to plenty of the very low fi trip hop of the early 90’s (fans of The Folk Implosion gotta check this out). Plus, I can’t tell you enough just how much everything continues to be enhanced by these very jazzy samples. Good show gentlemen.
This EP rolls on with “Get Shark Poole!”. This one has another very spacey start, and is a little less straightforward in every way. Now, I’m always open for a little experimentation in music, and this is BY FAR the most left field track here. I’ll be honest, at first I really didn’t know where this one was going, but I was pleasantly surprised when some of the heavier beats and synths came in. The very hazy vocals really add to the atmosphere and make this one a little harder to follow but just as engaging an interesting. My only real issue with tis one is that I could have maybe used a little more diversity in the lyrics. However, you can certainly argue that the repeated vocals give this a very hypnotic feel. Very groovy. The album’s single “Bad Idea” is up next. I love the way this one starts off just so subtle and smokey and ends up building to a much larger and more colorful atmosphere. I’ve always loved this very dreamy, Low-Fi atmosphere in Indie Rock, and Bad Bearth pull it off really wonderfully. I love LJA’s vocals on this one, they come off so distant and hard to place, like he’s actually lost in this very hazy atmosphere. “Bad Idea” comes off wonderfully, and I continue to seriously go gaga for these trumpet samples. Honestly, I think this is one of the most interesting tracks here. Almost every track so far has had a very similar atmosphere, but more often than not it comes off very chilled out and laid back. On this one though, the repeated line of “It was a bad idea” gives this one a sort of dark or sinister vibe to it, even more so in the last line of “We all must live with what we do”. This EP ends off on a much funkier note with “Peacelord”, which leads us right back to the much more laid back vibes of earlier. This one is one of the more straightforward tracks here, and is just a solid groovy tune. However, it ends off the EP nicely and makes it feel very complete.
Rating: 7.7/10
Give A Listen To: “No Daps”, “Ugly Baby, Born Dead”, “Bad Idea”, “Disconnected”
Overall Thoughts: For a debut EP from an Indie Band, this collection of tracks comes off strangely complete. The music of Bad Bearth for me is all about atmosphere. There are nods here from everything to Jazz to Hip Hop to Indie Rock to tons more, and it all comes off pretty nicely. I can't help but to get caught up in the tracks here, and I'm ready for anything these guys throw at us in the future
https://soundcloud.com/badbearth/sets/elephant-in-the-womb-1 - Check these boys out, and tell em' The Finschise sent ya!
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