This EP is aimed squarely at the Paramour-adoring set, some part of me thinks it’s grotesquely cynical when grown men make songs for pre-teens but then part of me wonders who else will do it – I mean, only bearded fiftysomethings seemed to care for Tiny Masters of Today.
You could say it’s the kind of music that either puts the pop in “pop punk” or takes the punk out of “pop punk”. I suppose the audience for that kind of thing won’t despise it, but I can’t see it distinguishing itself in the field particularly. I can’t say it isn’t a competent record, it’s quite well played and terrifyingly drilled in terms of rhythmic structure, not a beat dare be missed.
It certainly opens interestingly enough, beyond the affected ECG monitor, with a surprisingly heavy riff that bears comparison to Appleseed Cast at their best but soon enough you see what you’ve waded into. For me, it came when the vocals kicked in, I literally gasped. So clean, so well enunciated, not much range, buffed to mid-Atlantic edgelessness. What you end up with is a politer version of emo-true believers Thursday.
There are some incongruities that are almost pleasant; the cover of ‘Price Tag’ by Jessie J. could have been interesting if they hadn’t played it so straight, but straight is how MaLoKai play it. Throughout the album, one track bled into another. The title track is far and away the highlight, everything else just congeals into a very bland soup. Actually, it’s probably more interesting to listen to someone making carrot and coriander bisque. Where’s John Cage when you need him?
