EP Review: Hot Sounds

Hot Sounds brings a sinuous step up from MCK’s Confessions EP released last year. The new four track EP keeps the silky lo-fi base, which has foregrounded previous tracks, and builds on it with a new energy. Track one – Tell Me – begins with a muted, underwater beat and drops quickly into the smooth vocals that characterise all of the following tracks.

This liquidity flows through to the second track and first single from the EP – Muse. Here it becomes the almost eerily ethereal backdrop to what is an otherwise pleasant, stereotypically feminine lament. A very vocally-driven track, a lot of elements of the backing track seem almost distracting.

Track four – Better (feat. Wells) – marks a definite high point in the EP, for me at least. It’s the second single and really stands out for a few reasons. I found in this track a disconnect between lyrical content and musical energy in that the lyrics are of heartbreak yet it is so careless and fun musically. Still, something worked. It tapped into that bittersweet energy of pop music that bands like The 1975 exemplify.

The EP ends sentimentally with the twinkly dreamscape of Trippin’ Up. Big, repeated chorus and a really nice little guitar part nestled in there. All round a fitting way to end a gentle, trendy EP with mainstream potential. Depending on your preference this EP can be anything from chill-lo-fi-beats-to-study-to, to bedroom dancing before a night out.