Carry on, carry on
Three tracks may not be much to sink your teeth into, but for British rock outfit This Wicked Tongue, the trio of tracks does enough to convince you that you will want to hear more of this emerging talent. The title track is a solid opener, fusing various stylistic traits to generate an identity that is both stimulating and accessible. At times, Christina Maynard's vocal style bears a slight similarity to that of Shush's Milena Yum, providing the young quartet with a mature and confident front. However, the production on some of Maynard and guitarist Haydn Rogers' vocals results in a horribly compressed and distorted sound that does the songs no favours whatsoever.
Rogers' guitar work in the verses of '22' possess an intriguing technicality to it and although it seem as though it would belong better in the company of prog rock compositions, it adds a natural sense of diversity to This Wicked Tongue's music. The first post-chorus section of '22' also particularly stands outs; the harmony explored by Rogers yields absolutely beautiful results, with the cleaner instrument tones complementing these compositional flavourings perfectly.
On the other end of the comfort scale, the lyrical attempt in 'Creature' to implement as many rhyming words as possible ('preacher,' 'teacher', 'feature', you get the idea...) fail to make a significant impression. Despite this the closing track is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the EP, thanks to the outrageously infectious outro that will linger in your mind for some considerable time. If you do nothing else, make sure you check out the final 70 seconds of this song.
"Carry This" is an impressive release from Worcester foursome This Wicked Tongue that teases with notable promise. EP's don't come much shorter than this, but the composition quality of the three tracks makes amends for the lack of quantity. It may not come into contention for being the most polished recording that you will hear this year, but aspects of the quartet's style suggest that they are something worth getting excited about.