EP Review: Nation

/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:””; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;

Invercargill gets a bad rap – it’s cold, it’s far away, the people have stronger accents – but SIT is a becoming a major drawcard for savvy musicians and audio engineers who don’t want to end up in major debt whilst studying.

The school is turning out some seriously decent bands with a pretty distinct sound.

In the spirit of not ‘beating around the bush’, Nation are one of these bands – a four-piece rock/electronica outfit, formed in the mighty Inver-vegas and currently situated in Wellington.

Fumes the opening song on their current self-titled EP is a catchy, pop-ish, semi-ode to Mary Jane that clocks in at exactly 4mins and 20 secs. A brilliant opening piece – slick bass layered over some great wee synth licks and a beat that has been compressed to within an inch of its life.

The next track Trouble brings the tempo down a notch, jazzy and subdued. The vocals are smoother and the guitar solo is hella wicked.

The Wild West follows on, the opening of which screams ‘musical theatre’. There is a real dramatic flair to the piece that the lyrics help to emphasize – and the honkey tonk piano breakdown really drives home.

The closing track The Root of All Evil has a similar theatrical vein to The Wild West but runs slightly more restrained and rockier.

Overall a pretty great listen.