Another week and we have three completely different yet awesome EPs to check out. Let’s dive right in!
Tallboy: House of Glass
The debut EP from the UK alt-metallers draws together their previous three singles and adds on two more brutal songs to create a fantastic 18 minutes of heavy goodness. There’s elements of hardcore, metalcore and even nu metal throughout, all combining together in a fantastic, heavier version of a modern metal sound that certainly feels unique! Heck, the vocals actually remind me of Robb Flynn a lot, which I love! It’s so hard to pick highlights too as every song is SO GOOD. The band are insanely talented; from the riffs to the breakdowns to the brutal screams and more cleaner (but still harsh) vocals to the drums and bass going hard throughout, it’s all amazingly put together and performed. If you are at all into the heavy side of metal, this is absolutely the release for you. The band have hit the ground running in a major way with this EP, and the sky is very much the limit! A very solid 9.5/10 from us!
Clayton Mullen: Varsity Blues
Following up on his sophomore album from last year, Varsity Blues is five tracks in a pretty similar pop-country vein to that. The opener/title track is great and has a surprising amount of rock-edge to it, even if that rock is of the Camp variety. ‘Love on the Radio’ is radio-country goodness and one hell of a stadium-filling chorus. Both are big highlights of the release, but honestly it’s all damn solid. I think the shorter form of release helped my enjoyment of Clayton’s stuff; as just five-tracks meant I couldn’t exactly get bored of the style. If you’re into the more pop/radio side of country, this is well worth checking out! It’s come out at the perfect time of the year, and I’ll certainly be spinning this a fair bit through the summer. 8/10
theholeofmark: Show Your Heart Again
I was going to say that this sort of stuff isn’t really my thing. However, we’ve covered plenty of this style recently and I’ve loved all of it, with this being no exception! It’s a great combination of soft rock, easy listening and jazz, and is a great 20 minutes of easy-to-digest music. There isn’t a bad song on the release, but I found myself enjoying the title track and the almost Broadway-style ‘The Anniversary’ a little more than the others. Still, as I said, the whole thing is amazing and such a fun, easy listen. Mark (I assume?) is an insanely talented vocalist and songwriter. And I only thought about his butt for most of this review, what a crazy artist name! It’s not going to be for every reader here at Overtone, but I really enjoyed it and he has a big new fan in me! An incredibly easy 9/10!