Loose Talk Cost Lives – Wax & Gold

Loose talk cost lives are band playing a sort of tropical indie pop that involves a lot of finger noodling (almost like math rock) and a dancing bass that soars along the frets. They also have recently released their Wax & Gold EP. Four songs filled with happy rhythms and an upbeat voice.

‘Seraphim’ sets off the scene with a catchy guitar. The song does have a few quiet moments, but they don’t last that long: a slow chant, like the slow clap played during a “feel good” scene in a sports film lifts the spirits. But once you think it’s finished, there’s an instrumental passage. The music stops being tropical and becomes like an ambient break, breezy and relaxing.

Think of it as catching your second wind, as ‘Hemlock’ goes back to the fast music shenanigans (with a jamblock on tow). Thankfully, the effect of the song is the opposite of the one Plato felt after downing a few jaggerbombs with hemlock. It’s a happy, dancey rock tune.

Ah, but ‘Calavera’ shows the slower side of the band. The sound of an 80s pop song with a fresh set of instruments and a syncopated rhythm, it skews a few conventions, with the fingerpicking being a little slower but still one of the main attractions, built on the firm ground of a solid bass line.  ‘Amaranth’ feels like that Mexican candy my grandad used to give me when he visited: sweet, fluffy and gone too fast. No raisins, though.

The EP is happy. Very happy. A good contrast to the rather gloom and damp summer we are getting. Maybe it’s the longing for a sunnier coast is what this EP is pining for? I mean, besides the fjords.

Words: Sam

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