As is apparently becoming tradition, a few years after a meaty Toe release we get four track EP that sounds like it could have been part of the preceding LP. A tasty little digestif to tide us from 2015’s gorgeously eclectic Hear You.
Our Latest Number carries on in the same regard stylistically. The guitars are still doing their interlocked melody thing, the rhythm section still move songs forward, but everything is done at a languid pace. I know some people have not enjoyed this tempo shift and yearn for the earlier days of post hardcore influenced freneticism. But the band has long moved on from that, their listening tastes are different, their mood shifted, life slows and more room is given to breathe. Opener ‘Dual Harmonics’ has a lovely spring-in-bloom feel that envelopes the space around you in warmth and green fields. The highlight is ‘Etude Of Solitude’, with its simple but satisfying opening riff reminding one of the old MSDOS game Prince of Persia. ‘Closer F_A_R’ is another example of the band trying different things and defining expectations. Whether or not you enjoy this number will have a lot to do with your thoughts on ‘Song Silly’ from Hear You. As always the band are fusing math, jazz, and post styling with newer elements of R&B, soul and their trademark sharp perfection. Tis dope.
This is not the EP that will turn you on to Toe if you’ve never heard them before, but for those of us wanting more – and we always do – this is will do very nicely.