MAGNET

I've been familiar with The Fierce & The Dead for at least five years, since the same Matt Stevens shared both his solo work and his band's music to me. Since then, I've been a regular listener of his projects. This one has been very active playing gigs in different places and releasing new music. In 2015 the EP 'Magnet' saw the light, offering 3 new songs, two songs recorded live from some rehearsals and one re-recorded track which together make 20 worth-listening-minutes of great music.

It starts with 'Magnet in Your Face', short but powerful track for the likes of heavy prog music. It leads to 'Palm Trees' that has a certain post-rock / math-rock feeling on it made mainly by the guitar. Later a sludge-bass appear and make a nice contrast because the mood is actually very nice and friendly, totally enjoyable. But wait, because in the last minute there is a great explosion of heavy rock that make the song even better. Great!

The new version of 'Flint' is also great, I like its first enigmatic passage and how after a minute drums join. The song flows and shares that gentle sound that contrasts with the distorted (sludge-like) bass. 'Part 6 (The Eighth Circuit)' is a beautiful piece that shows a post- rock / ambient tendency that can be either bright or disarming. At half the song drums enter and play an important role, bringing different figures that put dynamism to the song. My favorite song of this EP!

The last two songs are 'Let's start a Cult' and 'Spooky Action', both recorded from live rehearsals, both already released on the band's second studio album. The first one might be my least favorite from this EP but it is nice to listen to this rehearsed version. The second one was a nice choice to close this EP which is overall a pretty good one, so you can enjoy its 20 minutes without any hurry and have a good time.

Enjoy it!