This is the first of two EPs that The Stick Figures have coming out ahead of a full album later in the year. They are produced by Marc Waterman who is best known for his work with Elastica and their record opens with the slow pulsing The Con. It has a bit of a far-away feel to it with carefully placed little guitar figures and what sound like treated drums and cymbals as the singer tells us it means nothing.
Mr Je Ne Sais Quoi has a bit of the Elasticas going on in the guitars but a very different vocal take and it has some good, if odd time signatures going on for an indie song. It reminds me a bit of The Crocketts and the vocals almost sound like they have been put through a loudhailer or treated in some way.
Nervous has a bit of a mid-90's indie feel to it and also reminds me of Pacific Ocean Drive: not a bad tune at all that would sound good on the old Radio 1 Evening Session if it's still going. Poppy Song doesn't sound as smacked out as the name suggests. just a little bit frazzled around the edges. It's a laid back indie tune that has a bit of a Super Furry Animals feel to it.
Hypochondriac is a lazy, laid-back tune with some odd backwards guitar in it that could just as quickly make you nod off as anything else. Autumn Leaves starts with a pulsing bass and then it builds some nice atmospherics around it to make you feel that the leaves are swirling around you in the wind while some cool guitar noises come in over the strings. Then the song just builds and builds on those foundations.
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The EP closes with a radio edit of Poppy Song. I'm not quite sure what was radio unfriendly about the other version apart from this version being considerably shorter but just as gently frazzled as the original.
This is a decent indie pop EP and the album may well be worth looking out for later in the year. Find out more at The Stick Figures Facebook page Be careful as they appear to be one of three bands called The Stick Figures.
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