Spy Island
Little Fires EP
Self Released
It is more than simply remarkable to find a band on par with the experimental sound of Radiohead or The Strokes and the phenomenal lyrics of great literary cynics. It is a rare and eerily hypnotic gift even to come close. Spy Island’s Little Fires EP achieves this unusual combination of style and substance in their latest, mere nine-song album.
Little Fires manipulates a kind of progressive British pop with a certain kitschy flair, a perfect ironic twist for the sardonic messages within the songs. While it provides the audience with a happy-go-lucky sound throughout almost every song, it produces the very opposite effect with its rather mocking ideas. The band adds extra complexity to the music as well, as if the abrupt and repeated changes in tempo are meant as wake-up calls. They are not only showcasing their musical capabilities but forcing special emphasis on the song’s wording as well.
As if that was not entertaining enough, the lyrics are some of the most intelligent and witty creations in recent music history, combining politics, social consciousness and familiar emotional responses into as little as one verse. Each track is written in the form of poetry but stays far from the stereotypes of the genre. “Mini-Mall!” and “Sober Sleeping” are two of the most thought-provoking tracks with lyrics like, “Let us get credit/ millennium slaves gulag states/ top-secret freight super-size/ it’s the American way!”
Though their theories are not for the weak of heart, Spy Island delivers an intriguing balance of relaxed beats and edgy concepts in one exceptional package.
4 Stars