I desperately try to avoid the statements "sounds like" or "reminds me of" when assessing data streams because I think it can often imply a lack of originality on the parts of both the artist and the tech assigned to study a particular signal, but because Barley's "Whitewood EP " does SO take me back to Pond's early 90's work on Sub Pop, I must, at the very least, allude to it. There. Many astronomers, scientists and great chefs alike have all simply stumbled across great discoveries. Though I do not qualify as great in any of the aforementioned fields, I have certainly stumbled across one of my favorites of 2014. This EP is heavy, melodic, avoids the current indie cliches dutifully and, as previously indicated in this sentence, has enough discordance and grime to hold one's attention. Nice job, Pete.
E.D. Out
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