The Madding Crowd - EP ★★★

The Madding Crowd, a new band out of Manchester, asked us to review their new EP They'll Love You More For Who You Are Not, available for download and listening to on soundcloud. This EP consists of 5 songs, A Cloud On The Horizon, Darling, Oh Minister!, A Glorious Comedy and The Human Stain.

A Cloud On The Horizon has the classic long intro of drums and guitar, sounding quite rock, grunge even. This makes the vocals a surprise when they kick in - reminiscent of Oasis, even Arctic Monkeys with that lilt in the voice and slight indie squawkiness. Not necessarily a bad thing, something we have come to expect from Mancunians and indeed indie music, but surprising all the same given the instrument use. The song itself has a good chorus, but would not suggest it as a single from the record.

Darling is a much more upbeat track, starting in a way that reminds us of the Kooks and similar. A catchy tune that was recorded and mixed very well for such a new band, it definitely gets the toe tapping and would make for a nice single.

Oh, Minister! is another indie tune, with an interesting guitar solo in the middle. Sing-along lyrics would make this a good gig tune, and is of a style of music I think this band should pursue.

A Glorious Comedy starts with the sound of a static of a radio being tuned, and works into a guitar playing solo. A slow drumbeat kicks in for a long intro before the vocals. The vocals are distorted with an echo effect, which works well for this kind of song. Although not upbeat like the previous two, it does get more powerful throughout with a brilliant guitar push.

The Human Stain is a bit more punk than the previous tracks, and the chaotic mix of instruments with the fast-paced vocals is an interesting change to the previous tracks on the EP. Could be a winner if this band choose to go down the punk route.

In summary, this a a mixed bag of an EP. We feel that the band perhaps don't know their focus yet, and it is difficult to attach them to a genre. In our opinion, they should pursue the indie pop route as the vocals lend themselves to that style, with Darling and Oh, Minister! being favourites of the record. They could also do well if they were to lean towards punk. For a new band, this is a good start and their eclectic mix of songs should each be well received by different audiences.