aaamusic | On 09, May 2012

There are no words to describe how excited I get when I check out an EP from a band I’ve never heard of, in this case The Son(s) – Leviathan, and fall in love with each track. Furthermore, there are no words to adequately describe how beautiful each track on the EP is, but here goes…
There are 6 tracks on the EP and each one is better than the last. The first – ‘Roaring around the House’ – clearly demonstrates the brilliant harmonising that occurs throughout each song. The song was relaxing but uplifting at the same time. So many songs of late seem to be relaxing but almost sad enough to put you into a bout of depression. This song bucks that trend and delivers something that will relax you and make you feel good inside.
I should probably state here that the EP was recorded in an empty flat in Edinburgh, in the midst of winter. Has the scene been set yet? Now imagine recalling that scene every time you listen to a track on the album because that is what’s going to happen.
The second track is called ‘If I hear you talk about apostrophes again…’ Before even hearing this song, I knew I’d like it simply because it mentioned apostrophes in the title (I’m a fan of apostrophes, you see… I don’t know whether you’d noticed…) The song starts off with a strong bass riff which, there’s no denying, makes a song for me. This riff continues throughout most of the song and is what made the track for me. The vocals are completely different to the last track – they almost seem to sound a bit harsher than the previous track but in a good way! The lyrics are absolutely brilliant. Nobody could fault The Son(s) for their lyric writing ability, that’s for sure. There’s also an excellent guitar riff three quarters of the way through the song – keep your ears open for that!
‘Cocksure Boys’ comes next – again another brilliant track. I’m genuinely beginning to run out of good words to say but this EP is so utterly impressive that I can’t think of any bad things to say. This track takes the EP back to a more relaxing frame of mind, although it gradually gets more and more upbeat as the song continues. There are also some brilliant lyrics to listen out for in this song, my personal favourite being “you’re gonna have to learn to let it go” – I think there’s just part of everyone that has to learn how to let things go.
If you’re a fan of Sting’s vocals, there’s a small chance you’d like the next song – ‘Half Lived’ – because, although it may just be me, there was a hint of Sting to the singing. This can only be a good thing, I assure you! Again, it’s a relaxing track; a theme that seems to run throughout the entire EP. Perhaps that’s what makes it so brilliant.
Then we come to my two favourite tracks – ‘Shot out a cannon’ and ‘There is no-one to thank’. I don’t even want to talk about these much because, like I said before, there aren’t words good enough to describe their brilliance. What I shall say though is the lyrics are fantastic and the guitar work is brilliant.
Overall, the EP is one of the best I’ve heard recently, there’s no denying that. There’s also no denying how relaxing it is. If you’ve had a hard week, put this EP on at the weekend and just relax. The style of music is quite indie-folky, in my opinion, but I’m not great with genres. Instead I’ll just say it’s brilliant. Check it out!

★★★★★

Melisa Greenfield