FROM the get go, Singles is a driving, synth-led album, at once modern and a throwback. Opener Seasons (Waiting On You), wouldn’t be at all out of place on the soundtrack of a 1980s film, with Sam Herring’s rough vocals soaring over driving bass and sweeping synthesisers, before Spirit turns more playful.
The Baltimore trio create a solid if familiar sound, but while there are echoes of countless other bands, Singles is always entertaining. Whether intentional or not, the music that underscores later track Light House is a dead-on reproduction of the excellent Such Great Heights by Postal Service, but with a new melody and soft Bowie-esque vocals, is equally worthy of praise.
Likewise, the bassline for Back In The Tall Grass is The Bluetones’ brilliant and under-appreciated If, only faster, but the song could not be more different – calm and measured, giving the music space to breathe. The quality of each track is admirable, and even if there’s little in the way of the anthemic or particularly memorable, as a mood-setter it’s practically faultless.
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