There's something to be said for long songs, and especially for opening a set - be it on record, or live - with a long song. When done well, it's an impressive and captivating experience. It certainly takes a degree of courage for a band to open with a long number, because if they lose the listener - more often than not to boredom - during the course of that song, they've had it. Most people simply don't have the time or patience to grant a second bite of the cherry in today's busy world. So to prevent switching off half a potential audience before you get going, that song had better be good.
Phoenix and the Turtle open 'Swallow Up the Moon' with the six and a half minute 'Line Drive'. Beginning softly before building to a crescendo, it changes direction a couple of times before the softly-pitched vocals enter the mix. That the song subsequently meanders unassumingly into fairly standard post-rock territory and winds down matters less because the opening couple of minutes are so well poised.
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There's some nice shoegaze guitar and melancholy-tinged piano atop a stuttering drum on 514, which picks up the pace a little. The lengthy spoken-word sample builds a nice tension before a thick guitar drives it hard to the finish. Sadly, in comparison, the six and a half minutes of 'Stuart Drives A Comfortable Car' drags. It's pleasant enough, but simply isn't a strong or interesting song, and consequently drifts by without really making an impression. The same is largely true of 'Wasted Days'. I'd not go so far as to say this is a wasted opportunity, but as a whole, the EP fails to capitalise on a strong start.
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