EP Review: Odds & Ends

Earlier this year, I was fortuitous enough to have reviewed the debut single Tasty from Auckland-based genre-defying-‘rock’-band Odds & Ends. Having been impressed with the debut single, I was anxious to hear what else this young band had up their sleeves. So, it was with interest that I quickly put my hand up to review their latest release, a five-track self-titled EP.

Overall, the resulting Odds & Ends EP. is equal part measures funky, rocky, dancey, poppy, but above all else infused with an infectious energy. Smoothly delivered, hook-laden vocal lines implore you, nay demand you, to sing-along even if you don’t know the words, while the tight, meticulously honed instrumentation provides a solid backdrop that demands you to move.

The production, mixing, and mastering on this EP are on-point. Clear, crisp but not over-polished, Odds & Ends is a highly professional-sounding. Unfortunately, I was not provided with any details regarding where the recording was completed, or with whom was helming the desk, but they have done a fantastic job in capturing the essence of this young band.

Odds & Ends are one of those bands that combine to create something bigger than the sum of their parts. Each of the five tracks is carefully constructed, and largely propelled by the groove-rich interplay of bass and drums, punctuated by crisp, clean, tasteful guitar lines that are comfortable leaving space for the rhythm section to drive the song along. Highlights for me include the powerful one-two punch of opener Don’t Look Down and Tasty, and the soaring, mid-tempo rocker City of Sails.

A good solid EP that this band can, and should, really feel proud of. It sounds great, and the music on it is simultaneously fun, ambitious, infectious, and hooky!