Opening with a sweet, summery lead hook, delicate drum beat and Jack Poulson’s mellifluous vocals, They Saw immediately hints at the blissful, infectious formula the EP will be based upon. They Saw transitions into the upbeat toe-tapper Sister followed by EP highlight and first single Not A Lot To Like. Listen to this track and I dare you to question how perfect it would be to experience live at a festival, the crowd clapping along, lighters up in the air, and googs out of their miniature plastic bags.
The musical highlight of the record must be the bridge of the fourth track, No Stranger. Here, a walking bass line is greeted with some deft finger-picking guitar, ominous fuck-you organ tones and a knock-out vocal performance that really grabs you by the short ones.
Climaxing with the unapologetically melancholy break-up song Made it Rain followed by a post-EP cigarette in Egg, The Night We Fell is the product of an ambitious band not trying to be anything but themselves – carefree and fun, yet also talented enough to encapsulate those heartfelt, sombre moments.
Don’t let the indie-pop label fool you – while The Zanes aren’t reinventing the wheel, they are by no means lacking flair or creativity. They blend inventive vocal effects, creative bridges and the occasional, hilarious off-kilter tongue-in-cheek lyrics (“I’ve got a sister/And I want to kiss her/But we share the same blood”) exquisitely with their catchy lyrics, beautiful harmonies and the overall light-hearted atmosphere of the record. The Night We Fell is certainly a stunning debut, and while The Zanes may reminisce about the night they fell, I predict they’ll remember this as the record from which they arose to big things.
BY NICK TARAS
