Blood Wizard - Lucky Life 

Now established as a full band rather than post-Kagoule solo project from now-frontman Cai Burns, Blood Wizard’s ‘Lucky Life’ EP does a decent and wholly pleasant job at setting the London-based quartet’s stall out in a style that’s as much a nod to their indie rock predecessors as it is a showcase of something new. Take ‘I Know You Well’, where slacker-like melancholy and shoegazey guitar sounds come sprinkled with decidedly ‘80s synths; the emo-indebted title track, a piano-led ballad kept from falling fully into nostalgia with its use of vocal effects; or standout ‘Lick The Big Star’, on which a similarly glittery keyboard line contrasts with its fully ‘90s alternative sound, a hypnotic guitar loop creating an almost lullaby feel. This contradiction doesn’t always work - the childlike results of pitch-shifting on ‘Scared Of The Dark’ are nothing but creepy, and the track’s otherwise soft (and at times, dull) nature suggests this is a largely unintentional result. Still, for the most part ‘Lucky Life’ is a solid collection that shows an act continuing to realise their vision.