Review Summary: You'll be hard-pressed to find a band that blends indie and electro so tightly together.
Strange Talk is an upcoming band from Melbourne, Australia that seamlessly blends indie and electro into one danceable package. Their debut self-titled EP, containing four exceptionally catchy tunes, only gives you a taste of what is to come. Vocal-wise, the singer bears some resemblance to Thomas Mars of Phoenix and musically they have that same infectious dance-synth feel as Passion Pit, but are uniquely their own.
The EP kicks off with arguably their best song out of the four, “Climbing Walls”. This track begins with an echo guitar effect coupled by a soft beat which later explodes into an all-out dance song. Funky synths dance along the beat as they intertwine with the guitar effects. Another upbeat dance inspired song, “Eskimo Boy”, starts the same way with a pounding beat and quirky 80s like synths. The song builds up only to slow down as the vocals and music fades out and then back in, while the vocalist repeats “like a jigsaw, like a jigsaw”. This part, in all certainty, will become stuck in your head for the rest of the day.
The band tone things down a bit when “Is It Real?” plays on. While the song is slower than the previous two, the chorus still pops. This song will have your foot tapping along to the beat as sounds from the synthesizer float out of your speakers and circle around your head. “We Can Pretend”, the last song off the EP, follows suit and does so in similar way as “Is It Real?”. This song, however, has more of a dreamy feel to it. The music in the chorus does not deviate too far from the verses making the song have an overall “smooth” feel to it.
Unfortunately, the EP does fall victim to the fact that the songs seem to follow the same pattern. The first two tracks have that upbeat/dance tempo, whilst the last two are slower and calmer. Even the song structure is predictable, but I guess that is commonplace in the pop/electronic genre. Nevertheless, for a first effort, this EP is definitely catchy enough to make you forgo any of its faults and will keep your head bobbing all night long.
RIYL: Friendly Fires; Passion Pit; Phoenix; The Killers
