From its opening gated reverb drums and spacious guitars, it's clear that this Ohio band’s debut is wearing its early '80s post-punk roots on its sleeve. While it's hard to totally gauge the band on this short record, anyone who likes the era would probably welcome giving this a spin.
"Nature of Feeling," the aforementioned opening track, adds in a healthy dose of melodic bass and oddly performed vocals that are somewhat reminiscent of Missing Persons, but even that's reaching somewhat.They're hard to describe, to say the least.
The overall sound is consistent through all six songs on this EP, with some variations on the theme."Morning in a Room" nicely pairs dirgy, grungy bass with some almost surf influenced guitar, making it overall pretty vibrant in comparison to the darker songs around it.
Same goes for "Future Fights," a short, spiky tune that rushes through its minute and a half duration.Both "Suits" and "Passage on a Ghost Ship" are, comparatively, far more complex, with evolving structures and terse, shifting guitar melodies.I can't help but smile at the rolling tom drums of "Animal Heart," which could totally be stolen from New Order's Movement.
There's definitely a "lost band from the '80s" feel to this EP, and it covers all the bases of the era I like to hear.The vocals are definitely an acquired taste, one I'm still working on.Haley Morris' bass vocals are quite distinct and probably the most idiosyncratic and defining characteristic of the band.They're odd, but still work within the context of the record.It's hard to totally pin down Pleasure Leftists based on this relatively brief EP, but my interest is definitely piqued.
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