Having been strongly impressed by their 2011 debut EP No Love Lost, there was a definite eager anticipation for what was to follow from the UK indie rock/pop band According To You. The release was a magnetic and virulently infectious introduction fuelled by the instinctive ability to write and create songs which contagiously seduced and thrilled the imagination and passions. It has been a fair wait for the EP’s successor though the band has continued to tease and persuade through their live performances and glimpses of new songs but now the London quartet has unveiled the D€M0 EP making the time between patience well worth offering.
The new release shows the full range of According To You’s ability to seduce or take the listener on a rampaging stomp of energy and infectious melodic rioting. The four tracks making up the D€M0 EP are split evenly with a pair of emotively persuasive ‘croons’ top and tailed by two explosive feet commanding romps of inventive devilry. The release opens with the insatiably compelling Can’t Stop Moving, a full on dance of enterprising festivity and evocative melodic colour. A lone guitar teases the ear first to be soon joined by the strong vocals of Dennie Cook, with harmonic backing from the band, and the thumping beats of drummer Connor O’Shea. It is a rich temptation which once securing attention then explodes into a dramatic blaze of crisp rhythms and epidemically addictive hooks. O’Shea is immense across the track whilst the bass of Jack Tough is a delicious throaty dark shadow amongst the virulent enterprise from the guitars of Cook and Ross Wheatley. Impossible to resist, feet and voice succumb to the temptation offered, the song holding a ridiculously inciting presence. One slight niggle is the at times poor quality of the production on the song, though as the other tracks are fine it may be just down to the digital copy sent over for the review.
Second track I’m Not Alright is a gentler encounter, a melodic heat from the guitars immediately simmering in the air of the song. The vocals of Cook as ever richly impress whilst the heavy dark tones of the bass again add a depth and resonance which only enhances the track and makes the perfect temper and compliment to the otherwise warm embrace. The song is an angst fuelled slice of indie pop with an addictive essence which demands and receives a hungry response from the passions, a slice of sound which those frequenting the so-called important media sculpted charts could learn plenty from.
Taking its Toll slips in an emotion bred ballad next, its acoustic caressing and vocal reflection an entrancing hook soon elevated into an enthralling lure by the suggestive melancholic strings. It is a deceptively simple song but one built on emotional textures and melodic charms which leaves the listener basking in a sensitive piece of skilled songwriting. The vocal production is not quite right to play devil’s advocate with the song but nothing to diminish its majesty.
As mentioned the EP closes in the same energetic way as it starts, final track Here We Go Again one of those irresistible adrenaline driven pop songs that leave you exhausted and greedy for plenty more. An acoustic stroking of the ear is soon immersed in a boisterous stroll of deviously riveting hooks and rhythms, the combination disarmingly effective bait which recruits full enlistment from body, mind, and soul to the track’s glorious spellbinding enticement. The best track of the quartet it is a rampant explosion of charismatic energy and incendiary craft honed into an impossibly captivating and viral pop song.
The D€M0 EP is a magnificent next step in the certain rise of According To You. It might be a slow ascent right now but the release certainly shows that the maturity and evolution of the band’s sound is not a latent endeavour but a fevered fire which will only burn brighter in parallel to the band’s growing recognition you suspect.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/According-To-You/184581322899
9/10
RingMaster 07/11/2013
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