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Review: Speedy Ortiz - Real Hair EP
Indie | Friday 28th February 2014 | Pete
Speedy Ortiz is a rock band I'm not too familiar with. Originally from Northampton, Massachusetts, the band formed in 2012 and consists of singer/guitarist Sadie Dupuis, drummer Mike Falcone, Guitarist Matt Robidoux and bassist Darl Ferm.
In 2012 they released the five track Sports EP followed by their first album, Major Arcana in 2013. In February of this year the band released their newest EP Real Hair which is a cheerful and lively-sounding EP with classic rock guitars mixed with vocals which could be compared to Avril Lavigne or Lily Allen.
The EP opens with American Horror which, as any listener will tell you pays justice to the Lily Allen comparison. The guitar work and drums, with arpeggios and sustained chords has a similar sound to the Temperance Movement or, at a push, Black Stone Cherry albeit slightly more pop rocky.
Next up we have Oxygal. This is very poppy track. However, there are parts in which the band goes a little Black Sabbath and throws in the odd palm-muted powerchord or slow arpeggio reminiscent of Sabbath's Black Sabbath and Paranoid eras.
Everything's Bigger opens with a quick four note bass intro followed by lively guitars and drums which are joined by Dupuis' soft voice which goes from a medium rock tone to high pop. The guitars and bass are slightly distorted to add some “crunch” to the song but not to the point of sounding messy or played without skill. Again, the track is of the pop rock genre but has its own sound also. The song finishes with an average-length guitar solo and a final verse before the final chords slowly fade out.
The final track, Shine Theory, is a slightly slower track when compared to the previous three. The slightly distorted guitars have returned to play riffs which are repetitive throughout with soft drums and bass which are both easily ignored due to a preference to listen to Sadie Dupuis' singing or the final guitar solo which finishes the song and EP with a quick chord strum.
As previously mentioned, Speedy Ortiz's newest EP sounds very similar to Avril Lavigne and Lily Allen and will therefore appeal to fans of those two artists. Although I'm not a huge fan of pop rock and wouldn't listen to it all day as I can with other genres, the Real Hair EP is definitely worthy of a listen or two. I wouldn't say they're a band I'll personally be keeping an eye on, but fans of pop rock may want to as this band certainly has potential to go far in their musical careers.
Facebook: /speedyortiz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmEgEPe5GnM
