Review | HONESTY – WHERE R U EP

Label: Partisan Records

The Leeds collective have released their debut EP after signing to Partisan Records earlier this year. Off the back of their debut double A-side singles, this five track EP is an exciting release from a genre-bending band.

The EP opens with their previously released single, ‘NIGHTWORLD‘. The track is a transcient synth-led song that is atmospheric in tone and allows vocalist George Mitchell’s hauntingly urgent vocals to shine through.

Although the opener may establish HONESTY firmly in the electronic sphere, don’t let this fool you. The following track, ‘MR SPEAKER‘, features London rapper Rarelyalways, whose fast-paced and deadpan vocals permeate the song. Layered over a skittering melody of drums and electronica, the band show they aren’t afraid to be versatile.

 Vocalist Imi Holmes takes centre stage on ‘U&I‘, lending her soft sounding voice to distort and pulsate over the ambient backing track. There is a sense of despair to the track that makes the somewhat amorous lyrics eerie and other-wordly.

‘TUNE IN TUNE OUT‘ puts Mitchell back at the front for the penultimate track on the EP. His low and evocative vocals are reminiscent of The Cure‘s Robert Smith in the way he pushes and fluctuates his voice, unconstrained by the usual limitations.

The heavy bassline fused with the ambient sound of the synth creates a unique pairing, a moody refrain that matches the dispirited and resentful lyrics.

The record closes with ‘SEAMS‘, moving away from the electronic and ambient sounds heard earlier and into the shoegaze genre, with distorted guitars and a slightly more conventional alt-rock melody.

The dreamy vocals come from an uncredited female vocalist but the track spends most of its time in an instrumental dreamscape. Fading in and out like the tide and coming in at over six minutes long, it’s a stunning end to the EP.

HONESTY prove themselves to be a multitudinous talent: multi-faceted, versatile and completely captivating, this is a band that are unafraid of pushing boundaries.