EP REVIEW: Doom & Gloom Sessions – Spanish Love Songs
At this point it feels like an age has gone by since we had a real taste of new music from SPANISH LOVE SONGS. The band dropped the sublime Brave Faces Everyone over three years ago in the height of the worldwide meltdown. Despite a reimagined version of the aforementioned release and a colossal amount of touring, the band have been hounded for new material and it appears that they have come to a compromise with their dedicated fanbase: an extended play comprising four covers of popular songs that most people would know but would not expect the group to choose.
First up is an emotionally charged version of Smile Like You Mean It (originally performed by THE KILLERS). This is a track that was crafted wonderfully when it was first penned with the kind of emotive lyricism that plays perfectly to SPANISH LOVE SONGS‘ strengths. The vocal performance from Dylan Slocum serves as the perfect homage to the earnest lyrics originally written by Brandon Flowers and the haunting introduction at the beginning adds a whole new dimension to the song.
The following track Portions For Foxes (originally written by RILO KILEY) is a song that will feel less familiar to a lot of English fans with the American indie act having been disbanded for over ten years at this point, but if you listen to the original you can understand exactly why SPANISH LOVE SONGS chose it for a cover. The beautifully open, introspective lyrics once again suit the band down to a tee and with an instrumental style that needs very little tweaking to match the SLS sound it was always going to be a home run. This is a wonderful rendition of a brilliantly written track, and hopefully plenty of people will check out the original after hearing this version.
The next song Futures (originally recorded by the incomparable JIMMY EAT WORLD) is arguably the riskiest on the EP. Not because it is a tough one to perform musically, but because it is a song that is held so dear in the alternative rock and emo scenes that it would be seen as sacrilege if it was anything other than perfect. Rather than mess with the blueprints of the song too much the band opt for a well written, subtle introduction before nailing the song with a near on like for like cover. The vocals originally laid down by Jim Adkins are typical of JIMMY EAT WORLD, with his usual falsetto vocal range and his typically softly sung delivery, whereas this version from Slocum sees the singer making it his own with his powerful, sentimental singing style. This is a track that the band had to nail, and boy did they.
Closing out the EP is another niche track. GRANDADDY is a band that have forged a career with something of an underground cult following. When it comes to the United Kingdom the band enjoyed a decent level of success back in their heyday but in recent times have become criminally underrated and overlooked. Hopefully this chilling rendition of their classing track Now It’s On will remind people just how wonderful a songwriter Jason Lytle is.
This release is the perfect example of a band paying respect to their influences and hopefully turning a new wave of young music fans onto some of the acts that made them who they are. Each song has been treated with the respect it deserves, with the band putting their own spin on things whilst leaving the bones of each composition intact. So perhaps fans of SPANISH LOVE SONGS may still be left thirsty for new material, but this EP should sustain them for the time being whilst the band work away at a new full-length album.
Rating: 7/10
Doom & Gloom Sessions is out now via Pure Noise Records.
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