The Statler Project

Your Opinion My Opinion EP

Written by: PP on 16/12/2010 06:50:30

Here's an interesting outfit. The Statler Project, from Glasgow, combine together electronic effects and a distinctly experimental approach to typical British indie rock to make it sound refreshing and extremely original on their EP "Your Opinion, My Opinion". Just to give you an idea of what to expect, take note of their drummer Chris Reid who puts out material in techno/house on his spare-time, and brings his experiences there heavily into the sound of The Statler Project.

Basically, the premise is as follows. You take basic, arrogance-drenched, ready-for-radio indie rock of bands like Oasis (post "Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants") and Kasabian, and start meshing with the structure, style and sound to the extent that influences by those and other similar bands are only audible in the vocals, which are fairly catchy in nature. From here onwards, the sound becomes a mutable object, a playground for the members of this band, if you will, where traditional ideas about the genre are thrown in the bin and the white board begins to fill up with brainstorming of how to create something fresh and unique within the genre.

The result is pretty damn good. You have electronics echo dominantly around the soundscape, with extensive sections of pure psychedelic experimentalism demonstrating the avant-garde possibilities of a simple guitar effects pedal and electronics mixed together. The drums give each song a proper 'beat' in the conventional dance rock sense, certain to get girls' booties moving. The bass lives its own life, borrowing elements from jazz and funk to further shake up the mix of odd-flavored music that this EP consists of. When put together, it's kind of like listening to an indie band gone all funk and experimental on us, or a funk band who have inserted catchy vocals from indie rock with the aim of radio success in mind.

At this point, I don't even need to begin telling you about the bongos, tambourines and other funky things added in for good measure, because the basic gist is this: The Statler Project provide a highly unusual mix of styles, but somehow they make it work on each of the four tracks on offer. Lots of credit must go to the guy writing the melody lines for the vocals, because they are all catchy in a non-obvious way that'll grow on you over time. Most importantly, however, "Your Opinion, My Opinion" carries a fresh breath of originality with it. The quirky experimentalism of their sound is much alike what Foals did on their debut album: Something totally unique and different.

Download: Your Opinion My Opinion, Been In Your Streets
For the fans of: Kasabian, Foals, Oasis (experimental)
Listen: Myspace

Release date 2008
Self-Released

Related Items | How we score?
Comments
comments powered by Disqus

Legal

© Copyright MMXXIV Rockfreaks.net.