Sennen – Destroy Us EP

Norwich band Sennen, currently in the studio recording their third album, offer this six track EP presumably as a stopgap until the full length’s release. And, indeed, there is a bit of a sense of “will this do?” pervading the enterprise.In the EP’s 50:50 split between instrumental and vocal tracks, the former, on the whole, come off better than the latter. Opening track ‘In’ in particular ”“ twinkly, repetitive, interspersed with a solemn strain of violin ”“ evokes the softer, warmer end of the shoegaze/post-rock spectrum, and leads nicely into the first (and best) vocal track ‘Destroy Us’ which, too, is fairly amiable. A sense of anti-climax, though, is already emerging, perhaps due to the, frankly, ordinary (lacklustre, nondescript) vocal which fails to elevate those tracks on which it appears. A so-so take on New Order’s ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’ just about does enough to merit its inclusion, with a more euphoric yet organic feel than the original, while ‘Figurine’ is merely wishy-washy.‘The Distance from A ”“ B’, meanwhile, is one of those instrumental tracks that risks being filed under “background music”. Slow-paced and mellow, it doesn’t really build or develop in the way that one would expect (and hope) of this kind of track, a slight speeding-up and getting-louder towards the end not really compensating for the lack of any other marked light and shade. The last track ‘Out’ is better, with a loud shimmer and chime and a lively rhythm section propelling things along. It is a shame that the crescendo, all dissonance and shredding, arrives quite so late in the day ”“ almost at the track’s (and the EP’s) very end.Overall then a bit of a disappointment. After the rave reviews for their previous album Where The Light Gets In one would have expected something that made more of an impression. This, though, whilst admittedly pretty, and gentle on the ears, is nonetheless a fairly insipid overall kind of a listen.

Buy the EP on Amazon | [itunes link="http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/destroy-us/id338350779?uo=4" title="Sennen-Destroy_Us_(Album)" text="iTunes"]