I’ve been living with the Spectrals Extended Play EP for well over a month now, and the first thing that striked me when I gave it a listen, is just how clean everything sounds. The reason for my surprise was mainly down to the sound of his earlier efforts, these being a series of pop songs that borrowed the doo-wap from Phil Spector and essentially squeezed it through a garage-rock vaccum, to create a rather fuzzy surf-pop,rock sound. Well nothing has really changed, except, as previously mentioned, it’s just alot cleaner. Louis has removed the fuzz but kept everything else the same.

The EP isn’t an instant affair, with it being possible for an uneducated mind to easily disregard these songs as plain boring, as a result of the tempo barely changing throughout the 22 minutes. But after a couple of spins the hazy retro charm begins to stick with both ‘Chip A Tooth’ and ‘Dip Your Toe In’ revealing their catchy arrangements. Other highlights include recent single ’7th Date’ which the shadow of Spector still hangs heavy. There’s a definite change of pace, possibly showcasing a faster, more groove-driven, direction for Spectrals in the future.

The lyrics also emulate the music from the 60′s with his songs mainly about romantic escapades – both the bad, the good and the bitter – ”You were never one to a chip a tooth/When you could spoil a whole smile”. Extended Play is definitely pleasant but the lack of originality could become a bigger problem when Jones starts on his debut LP.