Southern quintet The Afterparty graced the home page here at HevyPetal a few weeks back with the news of their new EP. Shortly after, we had Restless - the group’s four track release – drop into our inbox. Needless to say, we were pretty excited to hear it, and why wouldn’t we be when we see rave live reviews on yours truly’s site? Citing the sweet poppy nature of the band in the review, we know what we’re in for, and we could not be more excited…
Kicking off the EP rather energetically isSticks And Stones, the lyrics playing on that famous idiom. Straight away we are introduced to the band’s sugar-sweet pop rock sound, with head-noddingly good pace and rhythm throughout. Singer Nic Matthews’ smooth voice starts deep and rich, but by the chorus he shows off his impressive range by belting the simple yet powerful words of the refrain. This track is currently being streamed by the band HERE so you can learn the words ready to sing along on their upcoming tour! Handy, eh?
The quintet rein it in for So Much To Say at first, stripping the tune back in a sort of Every Avenue type fashion – with just the vocals and showy guitar lines to focus on, before punching us with their distinct energy again. The rhyming lyrics of the chorus come across as a little… cheesy (hey, nothing wrong with a bit of cheese!), but cling to our memory straight away, and we do catch ourselves singing along by the final chorus – so clearly the band are doing something right!
The introduction to Diamond Eyes captivates us instantly, showing the creativity of the guitarists yet again with a fancy line. However, we feel that this interesting beginning is to make up for the slightly lacklustre song that follows. Don’t get us wrong, it’s an enjoyable song, but it just seems to lack that spark the previous tracks have. Regardless, it’s delightful and still has the sweet pop rockiness of the previous two tracks, but perhaps it’s just too sweet. Ah well, we all like our candy sickly sweet.
All too soon, we’re approaching the end of the EP. How To Let Go redeems the band from the slightly disappointing track before it, and it’s just a shame that this song is shorter. It shows a slightly more rocky side to the group, but with their own elements of pop shining throughout. Restless as a whole successfully captures the bands maturity through their musicianship, yet juxtaposes it with their fun and bright overtone. There’s certainly been some hype about the band in recent weeks in Camp HP, and this EP shows that the hype is fully justified.
Due to unforseen circumstances, the Triple Threat Tour which The Afterparty were due to head out on has been cancelled. But rest assured we’ve been told more dates for headline shows are to be announced soon!
In the meantime, how about you get your pre-orders in for Restless ahead of its release on July 2nd HERE? And grab yourself a ticket while you’re there too – these guys are NOT to be missed!
- Freya Cochrane
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