aaamusic | On 18, Apr 2012

The LP Pocket Handkerchief Lane was a good debut album last year and, now, the boy from Essex returns with some new materials for our ears.
It’s called Circular Haze, it’s a 4 songs EP, and it’s going to be released on the 16th of April.
The first track is the title song Circular Haze. The acoustic guitar, the soft and warm strumming intro and the soothing voice all leads to nature, the outside, something untouchable that is wrapping us. The melody unfolds skilfully with the help of the female vocals until the final hypnotic chorus, a pagan rite.
The first time I listened to it, I thought – this reminds me of something, yes! Glen Hansard (or The Swell Season), where is the female voice? And there it was.
Devil In The Eyes follows with a more Damien Rice style intro. There’s a constant guitar simple finger picking pattern and a ghostly and blurry atmosphere that gives a vibrating sense of instability.
The third song, Modern Freak Show is a bit faster that the previous songs with the voice modulating in a way that evokes ancient and magic songs. The sounds and the voices bring us to a legendary and indistinguishable moment.
Love Letters is the final track, the famous cover song from 1945 performed, among many others, by Elvis Presley: a nice training; maybe a bit out of context.
This “home made” Circular Haze confirms the talent of Kevin Pearce, his lyrical performance, his personal folk style. The EP title track is definitely a good composition, while the others lack of some inspiration. Very curious to see what Kevin will bring us next.

★★★★★

Pietro Nastasi