Monday 7 May 2012

The Son(s) - Leviathan EP

I'd like to think I know a thing or two about being an online, musical enigma.  But The Son(s) really do take the clandestine biscuit(s)... if there were such a thing.  With only the solitary besuited character on their releases and the mysterious initials 'K. P.' to go by, it's anyone's guess who we have to thank for not only one of the most impressive presences, but also one of the finest collections of tracks on SoundCloud.   If anything though, this anonymity only adds to their ever-growing appeal.    You'd be hard pushed to find another artist in the land with the same levels of prolificacy in their output, let alone one with the same deftness of touch when it comes to layering and building up their tracks, and a persistent knack for crafting sublime pieces of music.
 
Take their new Leviathan EP which has just surfaced today, as a prime example.   The title of the release itself (if you ignore the artwork for now), which conjures up images of the giant sea creature from folklore, seemingly mirrors the almost mythical existence of the artist...  that's as far as I can stretch that analogy to be honest.  For the sound here isn't as big as the name or the artwork suggests.  But it doesn't have to be, to be awe-inspiring, which this 6-track EP most certainly is.   For the most part, it's a gorgeous layering of instruments and harmonies with oh-so-smoooooooth vocals.  

Then there's If I Hear You Talk Apostrophe's Again, whose throbbing bass and electric guitar solos seems to be out-of-keeping with the rest of this dreamy EP, and harks back to Dogs, Boys And Men from their debut.  I stand by what I said donkeys ago, about its TV On The Radio likeness.  That's evident again here with If I Hear...'s bolder sound and the contrasting vocal styles in the harmonies.  Both of which go hand-in-hand to produce my favourite track on Leviathan.  Regardless of which facet of their sound it is though, it's absolutely faultless.


Leviathan is out now on limited edition cassette and digital download available from the 21st May via Olive Grove Records.  Get yours here.  The only issue I have with the EP, and it is only minor, is that I gave my Walkman away to a charity shop back in 1999... and I do tend to hold onto things a bit longer than I should.

No comments:

Post a Comment