The Belle Comedians have been working at their live set since well before cementing their current line-up about a year ago. This collection is a reward for fans of the band’s folk-tinged, vocal-hinged rock.
Production was handled by all members so the mix is very even and natural, like a well-done live performance. The production really shines when the instruments blend in to each other, lush walls of sound, as with the disarming, delicate transition between “Modern Touch” and “Stop to Rust”.
These songs have been the Belles’ live blue-print for a while now, so if you’ve seen them you’ll know what to expect. They crackle with the same excitement of their live show. Though the new tracks (e.g. titular “Without a Sound”) find the band fitting in to new, more natural roles, it’s some of the re-recordings that are most exciting.
Production was handled by all members so the mix is very even and natural, like a well-done live performance. The production really shines when the instruments blend in to each other, lush walls of sound, as with the disarming, delicate transition between “Modern Touch” and “Stop to Rust”.
These songs have been the Belles’ live blue-print for a while now, so if you’ve seen them you’ll know what to expect. They crackle with the same excitement of their live show. Though the new tracks (e.g. titular “Without a Sound”) find the band fitting in to new, more natural roles, it’s some of the re-recordings that are most exciting.
Older songs like “The Big Empty” really shine from studio treatment. This time clearly bettered at the hand of Scott Mallory, whose guitar tone is one of the finer pleasure of the recording. He also rips a pretty good solo on “Loaded Bones”.
Vocalist Ben Ross really finds his swagger on songs like “Modern Touch”, which comes off like the Black Keys featuring on an Arcade Fire track.
The only real misstep is opener “Lost in the Straws,” a middle-of-the-road pop song, with exuberant keys which make it not unlike a the Hold Steady b-side. There is just no moment of clarity – no instance where the band takes their influences and moves them a step forward.
The Without a Sound EP is a spot on palette cleanser for the Belle Comedians. It puts the group in a promising position to move on to work on their first full-length.
The only real misstep is opener “Lost in the Straws,” a middle-of-the-road pop song, with exuberant keys which make it not unlike a the Hold Steady b-side. There is just no moment of clarity – no instance where the band takes their influences and moves them a step forward.
The Without a Sound EP is a spot on palette cleanser for the Belle Comedians. It puts the group in a promising position to move on to work on their first full-length.
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