Dance To The Radio - 4 x 12” Vol. 2 (EP)

Another high quality release from Dance To The Radio and another four tracks from under the radar on the second of this very fine EP series.

First up on side one is Suckers, who like most new bands these days come from Brooklyn. Musically they placed midway between The Boo Radleys and The Spinto Band and their track ‘It Gets Your Body Movin” is luscious, swirly, summery and with trumpets - as all good pop songs should be at this time of year. After this we get Holy State. Remember last time we said that Dance To The Radio is rather fond of really noisy rock music? Well here they’ve provided us with some more, tearing out our eardrums after the pop of the first song. Dinosaur Pile-Up are a pretty close reference point to this but Holy State are louder. The only thing negative to say thus far is that Holy State are a little predictable but it’s not entirely a bad thing.

Following from the first EP in the series, there’s very little in common between the two sides. On the flip of the 12” we’ve got Das Racist and Bear Driver. The former is some hip-hop, (or Art Rap/Freak Folk/World Music according to them) which is according to a quote on the press release “best enjoyed with a smirk on one’s face”. This is mainly down to the silly lyrics that mostly go on about food but also manage to reference Ronnie James Dio. Honestly, it’s a bit crap, but that’s kind of the point and the track does bring even more variety to the release. Finally Das Bear are a Leeds based pair who make some very ‘now’ sounding pop music. There’s lazily delivered vocals and layers of fuzz over everything from the robotic drum beat to the keyboards. The cooed chorus helps to keep up the quality.

At this rate the four EPs as a collection are going to form one of the finest compliations of the year. Bring on 12” 3.