Three-piece bands are quite a rarity in the Milton Keynes scene. Among the myriad of acts in the local area there are quite a few bands that go for the usual four person setup so for Sandbuzzard to make a prescence musically deserves commendments, especially as they have managed to acquire such a tight sound. Apart from the usual gigging and the upcoming heat of the competition, the guys have also come up with some new material that features on their last Ep, “3 Shades Closer”.
The Unknown” is the opener of the Ep. With a funky start, theres a lot of wah pedals going on with the tumbing drums. It tends to stray from the Chilli style funk that comes up on some of the bands’ reportoire, coming across a bit more refined. Turning onto another facet, the track goes into bass and lead driven twin riff and then quite a layered sound with phasing wah’d guitars, a snappy beat, and dual harmonic vocals. The song takes quite a chilled sound with layered guitars and a relatively soft sound that is broken by the interjections of a chorus that packs a bit more of a punch. Listening to the track over and again, I tend to get vibes of the “Stone Roses” from the tune, mixing melody with funk and a bit of an attitude that picks the track up when it’s needed.
“Letter To You” is quite different from the norm of past Sandbuzzard tracks though, going along more of a ska type offbeat. It has quite a poppy style to it, not really in the way of being repetitive, but there’s a definite disco vibe there that lays down a sharp funky tone that’s quite summery. The chorus has a much more standard Sandbuzzard drive to it, crossing layers of higher paced drums, bass and chords and vocal harmonies that picks up the song amongst the sharp beats with quite a contrast. There’s also a good dollop of funk in there with the break that features a short crunchy guitar solo from James. Altogether, it’s quite a mixture of things that comes off well, you can’t deny it’s got ska, but there’s a strong disco vibe in there along with the Sandbuzzard sound that makes this song pretty catchy.
“Meaningless” finishes off the Cd with a steady beat. Introduced with a drum roll, it doesn’t take too long for the melody to build up. Going into some melodic chords and more vocal harmonies for the verse there’s quite a contrast with the sharper chorus, giving the song a balanced layout. As the song progresses, punk elements seem to crop up more often, especially at the break before the the track ends with uptempo drums and a lot of delay. It’s quite easy to listen to and seems to zip by, despite being just under four minutes long which is both a curse and a blessing, it’s easy on the ears and more in line with the majority of Sandbuzzard’s sound, but it doesn’t quite end the Ep with the bang that some of the bands’ other tracks can. Still, it’s definitely anything but a bad tune and proves to be quite the toe-tapper.
For an Ep of a few tracks, theres quite a mix of sounds in there and sounds quite full for a three-piece band. The main critisism is really just the overall length, it may just be an Ep, but if someone bought this album as something to go on before seeing Sandbuzzard it wouldn’t be much to go on. But on the other hand, as part of the bands’ expanding reportoire it’s a nice glimpse into their sound. All in all, if you want to hear Sandbuzzard then the best thing to do is to see them at a live gig, but the Ep holds up well enough on it’s own as another stage in the bands’ development and does provide a pretty decent listen for those who are already fans and those who come across them as they progress.
Craig \m/
