Rating: ***1/2
I reviewed "Alcohol and Bad Decisions" by Montreal-based rock band, Psychocide earlier this year. It was a fast-moving collection of drunken rock by guys that you wouldn't want your daughter, sister, or wife anywhere near.
Now we have a new EP from them appropriately titled "Hungover". I guess the title was inspired by vocalist-guitarist, Goldwyn Thandrayen drunkenly sending rough mix demos to the band's group chat and not even remembering it the next day. Yep. Seriously. It says it right here in the one-sheet.
I'm not sure what to expect with this one, but I'm looking forward to it. If nothing else, how it was made is a cool story.
Let's get to it.
Listen to "Hungover" on Soundcloud here:
We start with "Confined" and I'm impressed. This is a pretty coherent pop song. It has the crunchy riffs that we are familiar with, but it has a radio-friendly curve that I wasn't really expecting. Solid starter. "Kinaesthesia" is next. This is actually another radio-friendly rocker. I actually like this one even more. Blazing hot start to this EP. 40% of the way through, and I'm really digging it. Track three is "Unattainable" and it's got a little bit more of a jazz intro that eventually leads into a fairly dull mid-tempo tune. We slowed down a little with this one. "My Favourite Game" is a Cardigans cover and they do it justice. It's a little crunchier for sure, but it works. I really liked it. The final track is "Crash" and it's not a Dave Matthews cover (thank god). It starts really heavy but ends up being more of a mid-tempo melodic number. It's a solid end to a pretty good EP.
I was surprised by the pop appeal to this one. I think the first 2 tracks and the cover of the Cardigans tune could all get radio airplay. I didn't love "Unattainable" and "Crash" was only ok, but that alright. It was still a really fun listen. I recommend it.