Review Summary: My instincts tell me this is a great EP. *Ding* Right answer.
Insticts is the 2012 EP by The Animal in Me (formerly known as Deadlines and Diamonds). This is a huge improvement from their previous material, the vocals got better and the instruments got heavier. Just to add, if you listen to it and start thinking to yourself "Woah, it's Kellin Quinn", you're wrong. Repeat, it is NOT Kellin Quinn. It's just an average girl.
The EP begins with 'I Created a Monster', which is probably my favorite track from it. The clean vocals are pretty good and the singers vocal range is definitely on show, most notably on the last chorus. Although the screamer isn't as deep as he used to be, he is still a good screamer and his screams coupled with her singing make for a great combination throughout the whole album. The song itself is pretty catchy and has a good melody to it.
The next track is called 'Riddles' and is a great song. The clean vocals are great, and the lyrics to the chorus are words to live by, "Hey, life goes on". Think about it. This isn't a heavy song, it's more medium as the chorus has a kind of pop rock feel to it, but I still love it. For this song, actually, for the whole album, the ratio of screaming to singing is perfect, but I do wish for more singing because the singer has a great style and harmony to her voice which I think she should use more often.
Next up is a song called 'Smoke and Mirrors' which, musically, is my favorite track on the album. The guitar is very melodic and mellifluous, but that doesn't mean that the screaming/singing is bad, au contrare. Just like all the songs on this EP, the singing is lovely and the screaming is the right amount of heavy. I think this the song where the clean vocals are really put to work, and she does a really good job.
After that is a song called Tubthumping (don't worry, I don't know what it means either), it's a cover song, originally by Chumbawumba. If you don't know what this song is, it's the one that goes "I get knocked down, but I get up again, they ain't ever gonna keep me down" over and over again. That bit of the song is screamed and I think it sounds rather awesome. The cleans sound different in this song, but they are still as good. The song has a good flow to it, and I think it's better than the original.
Last on the EP, sadly, is a song called 'Walk The Earth'. This is a softer song than the rest of them, but there's still some screaming, because why not? The clean vocals have several little effects on them which makes them sound rather nifty. The wish I made earlier came true, because there is more cleans than screams, but the screaming parts are good and still gives a good balance to the song.
Overall, I really enjoyed listening to this EP and I highly recommend it if you're looking for a band that is heavy with a female singer. Even if you're not, I still highly recommend it.
