Out Of Love – Funny Feeling EP

The first studio-produced output from London punks Out Of Love, the Funny Feeling EP, certainly is a confident entrée. Bags of melody and big choruses make the 12 minutes run time feel a lot longer, and in the very best way. These are five songs that bristle with energy, hinting perhaps at the frustration and suppressed vigour any band would feel in these strange times when the usual outlets are not available.

There’s a cool 90s vibe to this record that recalls the feistier moments of British indie tinged with a flavour of West Coast dreaminess. This is also evident in the approach to song-writing. Out Of Love do not shy away from the obvious, but they overlay the sugar with enough salt to let you know that theirs is a serious business. At the poppier end of this record is Dog Daze, a kind of re-imagining of the classic ‘partner as devoted pet’ metaphor but set against howling, growling guitars. They can be angular and heavy too, as opener Play Pretend demonstrates, crashing out of a found sound snippet into a pummelling stomper.

This theme is carried forward into Wishlist which despite some full-on Grohl-esque throat-lacerating vocals has a football-terrace-worthy singalong chorus. See Right Thru evokes the very best of 90s indie yet sounds refreshingly now. Standout track of the five, however, is the sublime Hello Trouble, which dials back the intensity a couple of notches and has a dreamy undertone that weaves in and out of the gorgeously melodic structure. It’s a classic earworm and hints at greater adventures in glorious pop-tinged punk for the future.

If you remember the glory days of indie-style guitar music and the finer, edgier moments of bands like Semisonic, Silver Sun, Feeder and even Stereophonics, you’ll find much to love about this EP. And if those references mean nothing to you, just enjoy this EP for what it is. Excellent, vivid, and energetic stuff that’s being picked up by tastemakers as we speak and which we heartily recommend.

Out Of Love‘s Funny Feeling EP is out now on Venn Records and can be streamed and purchased here