Arlie - Wait EP

Arlie
Wait EP
2018
Spotify

Arlie are a Nashville based Indie Rock outfit. Wait is their debut EP released through Atlantic and setting of a tour across the US. It would be easy to write this record off as more of the same from Nashville Indie, but this album somehow feels different, somehow more inspired. The sounds all feel familiar, sort of MGMT meets Local Natives. There is a pop sensibility here that also allows the band to avoid getting lost in a too heavy handed indie vibe. "water damage" is an example of song that has this great little bop, but then shifts into this super big bold track throwing walls of sound at you. The vocals sound like they are sort of coming through an old school mic or spoken through some kind of megaphone. It gives them this really warm and comfortable feeling, like the band is really having fun making this music. There is an exuberance and an excitement to this EP that has been missing from this scene for a very long time.  Their take on Indie with this record is almost like the most recent Paramore record, a shift in style that makes them sound oh so great. There are a few times where the record can feel a touch bogged down in the high pitched wails that come often. The exuberance manages to stay at a pretty high level throughout the record though the vibe does start to wear a little thin as the EP progresses.

"big fat mouth" and "water damage" are likely the two standouts on the EP, they definitely take the biggest swings of the record. Nashville has certainly made an impact on the band as you will hear tons of country elements slip through on songs like "didya think". The albums closer "tossing and turning" is where things get somewhat off. The song is so breezy and light almost like some kind of upbeat adult contemporary track made to be played at a beach. That all is well and good, but it is such a high, pitchy song that it is grating in your ears. The intial impact of the album slowly fades on future listens, the idea of how new and exciting it is gives way to the fact that it is pretty rough. There are a lot of things the band could do to even this record out and get a sound that is a bit less harsh and they would really be on to something. wait however is a solid EP from a band on the right track, what comes next for them will really define how this thing goes.

5.9 out of 10