A little over one year ago, my old band, Admiral Rakes, played at a show at the now-defunct Harper's Ferry. My friend and bass player in said group, Brendan McGrath, got a band he knew to open for us. The name of this group was Banana Phonetic. Fairly quickly into their set it became very clear to me that these guys should not be opening for us but the other way around. They were tight, energetic, and fun and had killer songs.
Last year they released the indie-pop gem, Western End EP, and have followed that up this year with another EP, The Facts of Evolution. The EP utilizes the same formula as their first: catchy, mellow pop tunes with pleasing jammy offshoots. That is not to say that Banana Phonetic are repeating themselves; this EP has a feel all its own. For only five songs it has surprising depth--from the rocking "Anna Lee" to the subtle and sensitive "Manipulated Sun."
Two songs in particular jumped out at me from the first listen and each time thereafter: the title track and "Manipulated Sun." "The Facts of Evolution" catches your ear immediately with its country beat, johnny greenwood-esgue guitar tone, and semi-falsetto verse. Though, as the title suggests, this song really evolves. The jangly verses give way to two quick break-downs with pounding, low-end piano that add sudden darkness to the track before propelling the song back to the sunny sound of the opening. After the second break-down, a catchy and major-blues guitar solo leads the listener right back to a sunny verse. But after this third verse the song comes into its own. A break-down follows the verse as before but propels the song into an insanely hooky refrain, repeating "You turn a long time into a little while." The tempo is cut in half and the key changes to the relative minor, and you're in a completely new place. You're not sure how you got here, but you like it.
"Manipulated Sun" has the same pop sensibility as rest of the record but without the layered guitars and jammy outros. The song contrasts stripped-down verses that feature just an acoustic guitar, voice, a slide guitar caked in reverb, and very subtle drumming with massive choruses that feel like a cathartic release to pent up tension from the pre-choruses. Whether the lyrics back that up, I have no idea, I must admit. The vocals convey great emotion that really drive the track and make it stand out. The chorus repeats, "Happiness is just a state of mind" and is delivered with complexity, leaving the listener wondering whether this is a grand realization or a hopeless attempt at persuasion. Either way the refrain hits home.
Overall this record is good. It's catchy, it's entertaining, it's got great riffs and memorable melodies. It does, however, lack the same cohesion as Western End. I don't want to put that down as a negative though. This EP displays diversity, breadth and quality songwriting.
Below you'll find the embed from Bandcamp for the EP. You can stream the whole thing, but if you enjoy it I encourage you to purchase it and help support these independent, unsigned artists who have a lot of potential.
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