THE TRICKS - EP REVIEW

The Tricks - In The Doghouse EP (Unison Music Group) 
The Tricks - In The Doghouse

Release Date: 28th October 2013

OK, who's ready for some indie maths? Four songs = an EP. With me so far? But if three of those tracks are just different versions of the same song, thus meaning that there are only actually two songs, does that still = an EP? Or just a single? Discuss.

This EP from Hertfordshire quartet The Tricks is headed up by the indie stomp of 'Better' which is like Feargal Sharkey fronting Kings of Leon and singing a song written by Vampire Weekend. It's poppy, quirky and has a certain, awkward charm to it that will always be appealing within British indie bands. Following on from this opener is 'The Dead Of Night', a much darker, edgier affair to begin with before those big pop vocals burst back in and the stadium sized riffs do their best to get along with the bouncing bass line. And then there's another version of 'Better', the full version we are told. As far as I can tell, the full version is just longer at the beginning and the end so nothing to write home about. And then if  you haven't had enough of 'Better', the final track is the Bedroom Sessions version - essentially a roughly recorded acoustic version of the song we've heard twice already. It's not that 'Better' is a bad song, quite the opposite, but I just don't think anybody outside of the R&B world needs to hear the same song three times on one EP - I mean, that's 75% of a CD given over to the same song, is that value for money?


Live Dates:

30th October - Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen, London

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