EP Reviews: Blood Orange, Little Dragon & Weezer
Four Songs EP - Blood Orange
Opening The Door EP - Little Dragon
SZNZ: Autumn - Weezer
Dev Hynes AKA Blood Orange is an artist that I can honestly say I've never been that crazy about. When he was breaking out with projects in his early days I didn't really love them, but when he dropped 2018's Negro Swan I totally changed my tone. That record's dark R&B stylings were completely irresistible to me and I hoped it would signify the start of a run of music that I enjoyed more. That record was followed up the next year by his Angel's Pulse mixtape which I can't say I was crazy about and since then it's been radio silence for projects of any kind. When this EP was announced and the lead single was dropped and I still wasn't crazy about that song, I didn't go into this necessarily thinking it would knock my socks off. That lead single Jesus Freak Lighter combines a pretty beautiful New Order-style bassline with some rickety drums that sound pretty out of place. An even bigger issue with the song is how few of the refrains really translate or manage to be memorable in any way, including the hook. The opposite problem extends onto the song Wish which actually does feature a half-decent selection of refrains and yet I can't pick out a single piece of instrumentation surrounding them that I find all that appealing. Something You Know is an immediate improvement over the opener with psychedelic guitars and a muted but very memorable hook. Dev plays it impressively reserved on the song and it pays off. I tend to enjoy Relax And Run with Ericka De Casier and Eva Tolkin as well. Even if it feels like it's not a complete song when all is said and done I do really like it while it's on. Unfortunately, this is another collection of songs from Blood Orange that I find just okay. Inconsistent and underwritten are the first two words that come to mind and while he is still certainly capable of conjuring up some wonderful sound play, it's very much an appetizer with no real meal in sight on this project. 5/10
Even though it's been quite a long time since I really LOVED a Little Dragon project they are just one of those bands that I never really get tired of checking up on. Pretty much all their projects are good for at least one great song and that alone makes it worth digesting them. Initially, I thought that song would be the opener Stay which sports a JID feature for a combo so truly random that it had to work. Turns out it isn't exactly the slam dunk I was anticipating. Not that both artists' styles don't mesh together at all, more like they don't even really try with JID's solid sung verse feeling like it exists in a different song entirely than the cheerier synth-pop of the first half. Next up is the song Frisco which I'll be the first person to admit took some time to grow on me. At first, the whole second half with its methodical synth loops and wandering vocal lines felt completely unnecessary but it started to speak to me more once I started to enjoy the vibe it sets up early on. This EP is very inoffensive. It's easy on the ears and features a number of fundamentally strong instrumentals that prevent it from ever really feeling like a drag. But it also has a lack of ambition and a lack of songs that truly stand out, to the point that I know I won't remember how a single one of these tracks sound come the end of the year. It's unfortunate, but when push comes to shove I will still be anticipating what the band does next out of some sense of inexorable charm that they have over me. 5.5/10
If this comes off as half-assed, I'm sorry in advance. It's been a parade of Weezer in recent years with two records last year and three EPs this year with yet another one coming before 2022 lets out. Believe me, I don't have any anti-Weezer bias, in fact, I really enjoyed OK Human, but the good karma from that record is completely gone by this point. Not that the projects have been TERRIBLE, just inconsistent, and when Weezer misses they tend to miss hard. For every half-decent song on this record and even within some of those songs which relentlessly transition between sequences, Weezer serves up some of the hokiest and corniest material of a career littered with the stuff. If you really want the highlights I would point you in the direction of the somewhat exciting opening track Can't Dance, Don't Ask Me or alternatively the hook on Should She Stay Or Should She Go is arguably a good combination of sweet and catchy. Some of the guitar work on the closing track Run, Raven, Run isn't bad either. If you wander outside of those bounds you're really taking your principle enjoyment of life into your own hands. I think this is the weakest of the band's EP projects so far. 4/10
