Touriste

EP - What Are We

Play 90 second soundbite of 'Easier' @ 'CD quality'

Very very nice indeed!! Just four nicely relaxed tracks of really great quality make up this excellent EP. Touriste, based in the Isle Of Sheppey, comprise four young and seemingly very talented lads with a real good sense of how things can be done. Their style and sound is very much in the Cold Play mould; hey, that's cool for me - I'm not a knocker of that particular genre like many current music buyers. Touriste have chosen their path and seem to be following it with complete steadfastness. And, why not - if they've found a formula that works for them then long may they continue! This well packaged little gem is a superb introduction to what appears to be a great and very talented outfit. The very simple cover artwork gives no indication of the gems inside - a little teaser really. There's no big self-ups; no obvious pretensions, just a perfect example of KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid), and it bloody well works.

Once removed from its sleeve the disc just doesn't want to go back in. Well, that is that I can't take the damn thing off replay at the moment. 'What Are We' is a very very impressive piece of work indeed. Although the Cold Play feel seems to dominate this is by no means a rip-off; these guys are writing some very impressive stuff. Very infectious melodies treated with great aplomb are beautifully executed both instrumentally and vocally. There's plenty of 'light and shade', tempo changes and vocal acrobatics keeping things interesting throughout. The songs are extremely moreish. The band plays with great feel and professionalism making this just a bit special.

If I have just one minor criticism it would be with occasional lapses with vocal diction; because the vocals are so clearly recorded it's all too obvious when the 'th' is pronounced as an 'f' or 'v'. It really does stick out like 'a sore thumb' here because there's such a great clarity in the production and recording. However, it doesn't happen all the time so I guess with a little effort this small misdemeanour could easily be put right.

'What Are We' is impressive to the point of being frightening coming from a band still so relatively young. For me this EP is like a breath of fresh air and I'll be playing it many times and enjoying every single replay!

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