Review Summary: With a mature and simple approach, Old Soles created what is possibly the most unendingly fun EP of 2013
There's something especially satisfying about knowing just how a release is going to sound based on the cover art, and The cover of
mmm mmmm lays it all out from the very beginning. With its cheesy font complete with cheesy drop shadows overlaid over a photograph of some doughnuts, Old Soles' intentions are clear. They're not here to change the world, and they're not even all that serious. They're comfortable and they're content. The colors on the cover are subdued but not overly so. The image isn't overly flashy or glossy. It's simple. Perhaps it even shows a little sense of well-hidden maturity. The cover absolutely reflects on the approach to writing catchy and fun pop music that avoids being too quirky that Old Soles takes. It's one of those unexplainable, spiritual aspects of music when a record has its own identity and character because of the cohesiveness of all of its elements. It's gestalt theory at its most fundamental level - the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. With this EP, Old Soles has put together four indie pop songs in 2013 that, as a whole, is much greater than simply being four indie pop songs in 2013.
The first song “Good Girl Spells” opens up the EP with a short drum intro, a rocking bass line, and then bright guitars jamming along to the lines “Kissin' in the cold in the car in the dark / Bathin' about in mouth friction sparks / Keeping our feelings secret, Indian giving when we share.” It's fun, it's sexy, it's danceable, and it's almost impossible not to like. Though it's written by a group of twenty-somethings from various walks of life, songs like "Good Girl Spells" are the type of songs that everyone can love. The twenty-somethings can play this while they're smoking and drink PBR, some kid somewhere can put this on when he's about to lose his virginity, and someone's dad who ends up at an Old Soles show can bob his head to the music with as much genuine enjoyment as everyone else. It's immediately and widely appealing, but
mmm mmmm remains steadfastly enjoyable rather than being enjoyed in a brief, passionate burst.
The production on
mmm mmmm is satisfyingly smooth. The guitars are clean and bright without sounding sterile or overly slick, the drums have just enough punch without sounding dirty, and the bass and vocals come through with the right balance of both volume and clarity. The lyrics are relatable, but smart. They're lighthearted, but serious. Everyone knows how it feels when “She can hear church bells and I can see angels / Deep down in the covers under her good girl spells, uh oh” and who can't admire the wordplay in “Bright in black, chemical panic attack / We'll be together forever before you can say that back.” In putting all of this together, the EP is a short run filled with irresistible riffs, licks, and vocal lines. The layering of the three guitars in the beginnings of “Bon Fire” and “High Fashion Black Magic” will be stuck in your head for days. Foot-tapping is unavoidable during the funky dance rhythm and guitar trade-off at the end of “Bad Asthma.” On that same song, it's impossible not to join in on the loud and nasally delivery of the line “Wide awake in your bed, all alone at the party.” Though all four songs on the EP are under four minutes long,
mmm mmmm will keep you coming back for that one cool part you just heard on your last listen.
To be clear, this new Old Soles EP will not change your life. I can't imagine anyone ever sitting down to listen to
mmm mmmm and having a mind-altering or life-affirming experience. It's very good music made by a bunch of young guys that can be enjoyed by just about anyone, and that's what Old Soles set out to do. This EP with doughnuts on the cover is not going to become the next thing you hear that will influence who you are from here on out, but who knows, it may become a staple at all of your mildly punk-rock music-geek parties. It might be that thing you and your significant other put on every time you do that one thing you two do. It may be something you listen to one afternoon and think “that was nice” without ever returning. Regardless of what you do with it,
mmm mmmm is a well-done work of independent pop-rock, and Old Soles wants you to check it out.
