Rapid Fire Reviews : EP's have feelings too

Lil Mariko - Lil Mariko

I first heard this girl on Dorian Electra's album last year and I just new she was gonna be somebody to look out for. Her songs here follow a formula of fusing trap and pop for catchy simple tunes, that randomly explode into Poppy like industrial metal right at the end. Mariko pulls it off pretty well with her raunchy in your face personality and hilarious lyricism. The bad bitch bangers on this thing are instant anthems and I can't get enough of songs like Hi I'm A Slut, Catboys, Shiny and I'm Baby. While the songwriting and production here aren't going to blow anyone away the EP is overflowing with unforgettable personality. The only major complaint I have is that the stop and start refrains make it really difficult for Mariko to pen catchy hooks, which is usually a must for music like this. I think with just a splash of improved songwriting and more interesting beats she could follow this up with something absolutely spectacular. But with a slut anthem, an ode to pegging and constant degrading of men throughout the entire project I already know it's going to be something I just can't get enough of. 7/10

Dilate Your Heart - Ross Gay

Ross Gay is a best selling poet who assembled this EP of his poetry performed over music with a surprisingly stacked roster of musicians. I first caught wind of this project the same way most people did with its lead single which features a grand 15 minute performance over a winding Bon Iver ambient style instrumental backing. Across the record the poetry Ross is delivering is consistently compelling balancing personal and societal observations with some more lighthearted stories. The basketball story on Catalog Of Unabashed Gratitude in particular makes me laugh every time I hear it. While the poetry is consistently a highlight the instrumentals are much more hit or miss. Some of these tracks have very simple distant backings while other have instrumentals so jagged they are actively distracting. I think a consequence of bringing all these different musicians on is that there is no consistency whatsoever to these songs beyond some thematic connections of the poetry. Despite that I enjoyed this more than I didn't and it even surpassed my expectations. It won't be for everyone but I think there is a lot of good stuff here. 6/10

Half A Human - Real Estate

Indie pop and dream pop band Real Estate are back with a new EP. I haven't been a huge fan of the band over the past few years and I didn't even get around to reviewing their new album last year but I wasn't particularly impressed by it. The band feels like they are just playing it by the numbers at this point and the EP isn't really different. These tracks are less songs and more just short ideas of songs connected by dreamy instrumental wandering. With the exception of the closer Ribbon they don't feel like there's tangible progression and there isn't much memorable about them beyond their initial hazy mixes. The band is still capable of making these wonderful soundscapes but without meaningful songs to apply them to I wasn't getting much out of this EP, particularly from its two longest tracks. 4.5/10

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