Release Date: March 16th, 2018
Label: Wolf At Your Door / SilvaScreen Records
Genre(s): Rock, Alt-Rock
Selfish Things are a 5-piece rock band from Ontario, Canada, and their debut EP Vertical Love, is very impressive. Seeing how it’s their debut EP, I wasn’t expecting anything special, but I was pleased with the strong mix of slow and fast songs, vocals, instrumentals and playlist-worthiness (I’ve been listening to this non-stop, so I can see myself adding it to all of my playlists)
The first song, ‘8147 Mullholland Terrace‘ starts with muffled instrumentals and raspy vocals and explodes into a fantastic chorus with strong and steady vocals. The verses are much quieter and less memorable, but the chorus makes up for this!
Song 2, ‘Rust Cohle Never Sleeps‘, starts off with a much heavier tone and improved verses. The build up to the chorus and the chorus itself are very good, but I was expecting a larger drop. I’m just nitpicking at this point, as the song is very good, but not as good as 8147.
‘Without You‘ is the first softer song in the EP, and it contains some brilliant guitar work which is perfectly paired with raspy vocals. The lead singer’s voice breaks a bit before the chorus, but only for a tiny bit. The chorus gets louder and it feels very Blink-like (I Miss You) in the vocals, and it stays like this until the end.
‘Five Years‘ is also calmer, and the singer’s voice is perfect for this tone. The song once again builds into a more powerful finale, which contains some fantastic guitar and drum work. These are easily my favourite instrumentals of the EP, and to think that this is a first EP, it’s mind-blowing, as I could imagine larger bands using these!
The penultimate song, ‘Hangman‘, starts off soft but brings back the stronger, louder tone. There’s less of a build to the chorus, but it still packs a punch with more great pairing of vocals to instrumentals. Speaking of instrumentals – the end to the song is amazing. Props to the whole band, as the end saved an otherwise mediocre song.
The final song, ‘1435‘ is a surprising piano ballad which once again builds into something much larger, louder and better. Once the drums kick in, it switches into a different genre whilst keeping the tone, and it’s fantastic.
The whole EP is superb, and for a new band to come out with this first start, it’s setting the bar for the rest of the field. The vocals are always on point and match with the instrumentals, which in turn build to these amazing climaxes that make the EP a joy to listen to.
I’d highly recommend this album if you’re a rock/ alt rock fan, or enjoy bands like Deaf Havana or Lower Than Atlantis.
Recommended Track: 8147 Mullholland Terrace
Rating: 8.5/10
Facebook: selfishthingsband
Twitter: Alex Biro (@selfishthings)
Website: selfishthingsband.com/