Tuesday, April 5, 2022

EP Review: Murder By Love "The Night Affair" (Independent) by Corban Skipwith

Band: Murder By Love
Location: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Country: USA
Genre: New wave, synth pop
EP: The Night Affair
Format: Digital
Label: Independent
Release date: January 10, 2022
Dude, who invited the pop boys to the metal party? Because whoever did YOU ARE A CERTIFIED GENIUS.
Oh boy what a unique and interesting EP we have! This collection of tracks:
1-Closer To Paradise
2-Lost Boys
3-Naked Eyes
4-Paint The Town
By the way, my keyboard isn’t having random spasms, they seem to prefer their information in capital letters so I’m choosing to respect their ideals. Doesn’t really matter because this thing is wild, loose, entertaining and mesmerizing all in the same breath.
Let me explain to you what’s going on here, you have the basic elements of Metal in the background and with the instrumentation but as prominent as those things are what overtakes the tracks is this ‘Pop, Synth, Party’ type vibe coursing through the record like an open flame in the forest, it just takes over!
I feel one of the clearest examples is the lead singer Andrew ‘Gambit’ Speedy West (which by the way is the best name ever) on the microphone because his smooth, clean, passionate performances really lighten up the EP giving it a ‘warm’. ‘optimistic’ sensation that you wouldn’t normally get (or expect) in Metal which isn’t saying obviously that Metal isn’t a great type of music it’s just I normally go into a Metal album for its aggression and speed but to go in and hear this ‘Pop’ centric sound really through me for a shock and I loved it.
The other big reason for this EP sounding so amazing is the production because the singing is one thing but without the colorful, vibrant, engaging sonic aesthetic that the production provides then it wouldn’t be half as good as it became. The best way I can describe this EP sound is if you imagine ‘Tears For Fears married ‘Talking Heads’ but in the course of that marriage had an affair on the side with ‘Justin Timberlake’ and then had a one night stand with ‘Daft Punk’ that mass collection of musical style events combining is how you would get here.
Look, I’ll be as blunt as I can, this is only one of two EP’s I’ve heard all year that really impressed me and stood out. This and Matt Springfield’s EP and I don’t take rankings lightly, so please do yourself a favor and check out this EP ASAP. Corban Skipwith

Lineup:
Andrew “Gambit” Speedy West: Lead vocals, guitars
Stephen Farnham: Bass guitars
Arjavh Aleson: Keyboards, synthesizers
Mike Finucane: Drums, vocals, sequencers

Track list:
1. Closer To Paradise
2. Lost Boys
3. Naked Eyes
4. Paint The Town



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