Ep (short album) Review
3 Minute review read
Why I listened to this EP
Thanks to a friend, I recently got into TX2 – I really like their irreverence and catchy songwriting, as well as the unruly style that comes with the music. Naturally I want to listen to the new EP! (Also because this is only 5 tracks long I’m going to say something about all the songs, rather than just standout tracks)
The (almost) Album
Just before I get into Track-by-Track, I’m wondering if this album is a concept album, or at least approximately following the journey of one person? I Know What You Did… kind of breaks this pattern, but otherwise there are a lot of repeating patterns and imagery, if you include the Spotify Canvases and music videos. Otherwise this is a brilliantly structured and varied EP, which I really enjoyed listening to and greatly exceeded my expectations!
THE HUMAN DISEASE: The quiet start and build on this song makes it a brilliant first track – going from soft guitar and whispered vocals to headbanging riffs and scream-like despairing vocals. Honestly one of my first thoughts on this track was supervillan-origin-story, this song sounds like it was made for a movie! (And the instrumental bridge! Truly the guitar solo is one of the most satisfying things on this album)
Confession: The spoken start really sets the mood, building well into the first verse. The silence behind a lot of the lines in the choruses creates great atmosphere, the echo quite transporting to the church it is supposed to be set in. I’m not yet an expert on TX2’s back catalogue – has the bassist Courtney ever sung on one of their songs before? Anyway, I think her voice adds great variation and she has an excellent tone. This song is undeniably catchy, and generally a banger – it was one of the first TX2 songs I heard, so my first impression was very good, its safe to say!
Evil Is Contagious: This song came out when I was already into TX2, so I got the ‘Yay new track!’ when I was in Glasgow to see Joan Jett. I must admit that on a first listen I wasn’t that impressed – I’m not actually sure why. I think its because the jaunty sounding style isn’t what I’d come to expect from TX2, but on more listens I think its just a bit of fun (with not massively fun lyrics but oh well…)
I Know What You Did…: Okay so this song was teased quite a lot on TX2’s YouTube channel – that makes it quite clear what its about, and a quick look at the lyrics does too, so since its a very serious and triggering subject I’m not gonna go into it too much. But this song has a really cool repeating guitar motif, that fits in with both the quieter moments and the big expansive ones. Once I’d listened to this once I had to put it back to the start and play it again. Genuinely an incredible track, and I think its very well placed in the album – its more emotional, and it being followed by the fun and irreverent Pickup Truck gives us some release and cheering-up.
Pickup Truck: The first single from this album and probably one of my favourite TX2 songs (second only to Randy McNally, and, well, a fair few of the songs off this EP). As a closing track its perfect – bouncy and fun, yet still cuttingly political and well-written. Also the moment about “Kicking this s*** into 3rd gear” and 3rd gear actually being quite slow is hilarious in the music video! Honestly I’m not sure what else there is to say – its just a spectacular, strutting track that always gets me bouncing!
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