I’m not sure why I was expecting an acoustic record in the first few seconds; maybe I should start reading press releases before pressing play. Opener ‘Every Year’ sounds like a crossbreed of Passion Pit and Beirut, the electronic drumbeat a great base for acoustic picking and the saxophone sounding excellent. ‘Long Summer’ has some more than enjoyable parts – the chorus is enjoyable. Personally I prefer the musical element of the track and even the vocal melody more than the lyrics themselves which definitely would be at home on Radio 1’s Breakfast Show during the middle of summer. ‘The Lake’ is more to my taste in that respect, the lyrics a bit more clever, which features some nice guest appearances from Ordinary Noise Jonny Poole on the saxophone and Lou Terry laying down some guest vocals. The saxophones bring the track together nicely, bringing back that Beirut-esque sound enjoyed early on. I can certainly picture this track played with the backing of an ensamble of horn players.

Final track, ‘Resolve’ is an interesting ending track; the filtered drum & bass-esque drumming met with subdued vocals and sub-bass. The guitar part in the middle is great – I was a bit disappointed that it didn’t progress as it returned to it’s original sound but then I wasn’t expecting the sudden echoing drums and vocals bringing the track, and the EP, to a great close.

Overall, this is a great little EP; the production is excellent and it’s obvious a lot of time has gone into making everything sound the way it does. The guest parts, in particularly the saxophone, go a long way to making it what it is. I’d be interested to see how Christie pulls this off live! There’s plenty of songwriting talent on display here and, at times, it comes together perfectly. Check it out.