Angsty Indie With A Rumbling Low End.
As first lines go, "I remember when we first met, you were off your head on smack" is quite an introduction and the initial shock to the system carries its way throughout Fade To Sepia's 'Situation Hopeless But Not Serious' EP.
Combining the spit and anger of old school 70's punk with a rumbling edge of angsty electro pioneers and pushers, this release is roaming for a fight and woe betide anyone that stands in its way. Fade to Sepia are an edgy three-piece who aspire to the dark and murky sounds of Joy Division, and while that's a lofty goal and not exactly reminiscent of their sound but you can see where the bands heads are at.
Opener 'Word Association' wears its heart on its sleeve and even proclaims a desire to return to 1979, which is a few years later than Sandi Thom wanted to get to but a million miles away.
The anger on this record positively bubbles through and the bass intro to 'Leave the memories' stands apart as a musical highlight in a collection that is strong but lacking in many truly defining moments. As a calling card, the ep does its job well in letting people know of Fade To Sepia, but for all the slick guitar lines, theres not much to grab all the attention. The vocals of David Duell have that half spoken, shouted sound and whilst the passion is evident, it doesn't allow for many moments to connect to.
With the drive and energy shown on this release, theres nothing about Fade To Sepia that indicates they'll fade away but there is more work for the band to do.