Nothing new, but theres nothing bad.
Just because Coldplay hit it lucky and Chris Martin ended up marrying a Hollywood starlet (or Gwyneth Paltrow), it doesn't necessarily follow that every other second rate downbeat miserable band is going to spend the rest of their life up to their lucky charms in grade-A celluloid company.
And yet, the clamour to peddle such low-key slow paced material just keeps on coming with Early Year being the latest band to join in, with their 'Backlight' ep. And when a band wants to sound like Coldplay, the best trick is to do what they did and aim to steal the inventiveness of Radiohead and water it down a lot.
With second track 'Iona' combining chiming xylophone backing and a repetitive vocal that a Thom Yorke tribute singer would be proud of or 'Inside You' which appears to have acquired the keyboard menace from 'Karma Police', the fingerprints are all over this collection of tracks. Early Year are either very keen fans of the bands they take inspiration from or have a very keen eye on reproducing what is de rigueur at the moment.
In all fairness, if a band is going to replicate another act, its better to pick one that is great because if they fall short, at least they may still produce something of note. And that's the feeling from this record. It's not bad, there are some nice moments but all the while, there is something nagging in the back of your mind that it's not new or too interesting.
The final track 'Last Laugh' shifts its coveting eyes to Mansun with the vocals being highly similar to the under-rated Liverpool bands early tracks and the lyrical flow containing equally abstract and bizarre flourishes.
Early Year have shown that they have decent songs, they can all play and the vocals are decent, now they only have to prove they have an identity and character of their own.