Keep Shelly In Athens - Our Own Dream (2011)

7/10

Greek outfit Keep Shelly In Athens have managed to stand out amidst all the emerging outfits trying to combine the band concept with current trends in electronic music. It’s hard to pin down a single factor which makes them so appealing, but an endearing eclecticism to their songs is certainly part of it.

Nowhere is this more evident than on the final track of this EP, entitled “A) The Rogue Superhero B) Ready To Pay The Price”. As you might tell, it is split into two parts. There’s quite a strong hip hop element to begin with, with scratching and a cut up sample giving way to a simple-yet-effective beat, singer Sarah P.’s harmonious voice and some retro synths. Then, the track breaks down into eerie organ interlude, followed by an Eastern-tinged electric guitar section and more scratching. Now if that isn’t eclectic, tell me what is.

And while applying such an approach to a full-length album may appear unfocused, the variety between all of the six offerings on here seems more fun than anything. In the download age, it’s not uncommon for artists to showcase a mass of influences – but to create an identity, a body of work needs something to unify it. KSiA would do well to keep to the melancholic, bittersweet feel to their work which gives it that identity; but quite frankly, the haunting nature of Sarah’s beautiful voice sees to that.

Possibly the best song on here is opener “Lazy Noon”. The sound of ocean waves and a bassline worthy of the Café del Mar make this a dreamy wonder; you could see them doing an LP of this kind of stuff. But they’re not afraid to make something darker sounding, like the title track, really utilising the spectre-like nature of Sarah’s voice with a bit of distortion. At the same time, it’s also pleasant to hear her ever-so-slightly accented voice clearly, as on the more strongly emotional “DIY” (the combination of dubstep-like beats with brass on a pop song being another showing off of their musical repertoire).

It’s true that the duo like playing around with the sound, often using distortion and effects delightfully, but they sometimes fall into the classic trap of overdoing it. Am I being a bit picky, or is there really no need for the tempo to suddenly increase as “Our Own Dream” fades out? Then there’s the remix of ABADABAD’s “California Girls”; the song itself is pretty weak, and gets worse midway through when KSiA add in some skipping in an attempt to further rework things. Unfortunately, it’s just a bit annoying.

The often-charming eclecticism also has its dangers. While the ‘70s-influenced “Fairytale” has a bit of retro charm, with its four-on-the-floor beat and teen movie feel, it feels too whimsical alongside the deeper, more satisfying tracks.

However, such results are to be expected with KSiA’s constant experimentation. For now, it’s enough for them to make lush-sounding music which goes a bit further than many of their peers, both in terms of quality and breadth. It remains to be seen whether or not they can find the sound that makes them a force to be reckoned with.

This EP was released by Forest Family Records in 2011, available from Amazon.