EP Review: Orbiting Bodies

Orbiting Bodies is the freshly released fourth EP from Lower Hutt’s Electric Tapestry. I’m a fan of these guys, having had the pleasure of reviewing their previous EP, Warship Across, here. I was stoked to discover that things have only gotten better since I last checked in. The EP features a magnificent piece of cover art by Aaron Percy, one of the band’s three guitarists.

First track Lion’s Breath is a lush slice of Indie Pop-Rock, driven by a solid rhythm section and gloriously jangly guitars, with a vocal line borne from an excellent sense of melody. A quick snippet of guitar kicks off this mid-paced rocker, which reminds me overall of “Bends”-era Radiohead, which can only ever be a good thing. I also like the contrast between the happy-happy sound of the verses, and the fuzzed-up anthemic chorus, a seamless back-and-forth transitioning. Clocking in at 2’38”, with that chorus, it’s a very radio-friendly little number.

Algorithm Bride is a much punchier offering, a song that immediately grabs you by the earholes and swings you all about the place. These guys are righteous tone-merchants too, listening to the guitar and bass tones makes me go “yeah man, that’s how it’s done”. Great stuff. With drums to match, it’s a recipe for a kick-arse time. Vocally, another total earworm. Good luck getting this out of your head any time soon. A tasty guitar solo, whichever of the triple-guitar-threat this is being adept in both technique and feel. This song would be truly something, to experience live.

Sweetly mellow guitar arpeggios pave the way for the upbeat feel of One of These Maybes. These guys have real talent in putting songs together, there’s an almost Prog-like element to the long instrumental mid-section, and it manages to stay as catchy as all hell, all the way through. The instrumentalism is only interrupted by a brief reminder that “life is an Electric Tapestry”, sung with passion, glee… and some fantastic harmonies. This track is five minutes of celebration of music, joy, and life itself.

Lastly, we have Nostalgia Sick. An interesting journey of a song, it starts out with the time-honoured partnership of bass and drums, mild and poppy, with romantically poetic lyrics. However at around the 90 second mark, the mood becomes a touch more reflective, with a building tension that ends up in a much darker place, as if the intention is to destroy the memories of the happier past, a sombre and powerful section of the song, before lighting up again for the final 30 seconds, a sense of peace being reached.

Well done lads, you’ve delivered the goods again, Orbiting Bodies is a tidy EP of all killer no filler. I strongly recommend having a listen, you’ll love yourself for it.