WHERE THE SKELETONS PLAY

Can perfection be improved upon? That's the very tricky question I'm faced with here, reviewing WTSP's second EP, 'Serotonin Blueprints'; their debut scored a very healthy ten out of ten on this very site. 'Serotonin Blueprints' opens in fine fashion with 'If We Just Pretend...', a brooding piece bursting with melody and heaviness. The vocal is especially eerie, and somehow detached, until an explosion of emotion at the end before the song collapses on itself. This pretty much sets the sonic template for the rest of the EP. However, don't read that as simply treading water; there are many ebbs and flows both musically and emotionally. It would be easy to write this off as Deftones-worship. But, while the Sacramento five-piece experiment to avoid, or mask, stagnation, WTSP use experimentation as a means to reinforce already solid and interesting foundations. Each little sonic touch is carefully placed, and more often subtly, to enhance the structure of each piece; most notably in the two instrumental(ish) tracks. There are no extraneous bleeps or techno beats; this is far too musical for that. 'Serendipity' is the first instrumental, echoing Vangelis via Ryuichi Sakamoto, and manages to convey a serene landscape to offset the emotional rollercoaster of the first half of the EP. The title track follows and is probably the furthest WTSP get from their core sound. The synths are of particular note during the opening, as they provide a very brooding dynamic. Also of note is the way the track comes off structurally like early-Tool. And so we close with the final instrumental piece (save for a brief echoed vocal) 'Your Innocence Exists'. Once again favouring a lighter sound, it is also slightly more on the haunting side of the aural spectrum. So, have they pulled it off? Thankfully, yes. It is difficult to score, only because to give them another ten out of ten seems like a foregone conclusion; to give them less could be construed as not wanting to show favouritism. Ultimately, I can only go on my gut and ask myself the same question "could this be improved upon"? Honestly, the answer is no.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Self-released

EP

SEROTONIN BLUEPRINTS

Review by Steve Cowan

RUNNING TIME:

30:26

RELEASE DATE:

Oct 2012

TRACK LISTING

1) Perspex Queen
2) Punctuate the Sky
3) If We Just Pretend....
4) ...your innocence exists
5) Serotonin Blueprints
6) Serendipity

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

UK

"It would be easy to write this off as Deftones-worship. But, while the Sacramento five-piece experiment to avoid, or mask, stagnation, WTSP use experimentation as a means to reinforce already solid and interesting foundations."