After hearing about the Unicorns from various people I gave there first album "Who will Cut our Hair when we're gone" and loved it. It was fun, quirky, playful, pop music. The album was in my cd player for two and a half months, it was that good. After I was done listening to the album for a while I wanted more, but unfortunately could only find this ep. I really got my hopes up for this, even though it was only a four song ep I still got excited. This ep is good solid quirky pop music, this isn't as good as the Unicorns debut album, so if you are a diehard Unicorns fan than you may be in for a pleasent surprise.
The big positive about this ep is that all of these songs are good. I never find myself skipping a track and this is a really good thing because there are only four tracks on the ep. Unfortunately all of these tracks are just good, not amazing unlike other Unicorn songs. While these songs are poppy and fun, they don't have the edge or the spunk. The sugary guitar lines and the soft vocals are still present, but throughout the ep there really isn't anything amazing. The opener "The Unicorns:2014" is probably my favorite track and is an exception because it is amazing. It has sort of a spacey electronic part, and then it bursts into a rockish song. This is one of my favorite Unicorns songs, and the ep might even be worth purchasing because of it. Next track "Emasculate the Masculine" is just a bore, you are waiting for the track to get somewhere and it just doesn't. Although this song is effective it doesn't have any quirkiness and the pop feel is gone. "Evacuate the Vacouus" is another track that is just sort of dull. This is a softer track that doesn't do too much for me. Once again the happy playfulness has disappeared. Even though the track is good it's far from amazing. "The Unicorns:2014 (Demo Version) is better than the first. This is definately the highlight of the album and it is filled with keyboard effects and has a nice poppy feel to it. While some of these songs are just average, "The Unicorns:2014" (both version) save the album.
There are a various amount of instruments used in this ep. The ep is covered with catchy guitar jingles, keyboards, and a few drum beats. Basically the guitar powers the whole ep. The catchy guitar riffs mixed in with keyboard effects gives this album a soft, lo-fi, expiremental feel. You can tell the Unicorns are having fun, and they like expirementing. The keyboards make the music upbeat and sugary, this is definately an indie pop album. The instruments play a big role, but so does the lead singer. His voice is soft and soothing. You don't think this would make a good combination with indie pop but it does. His vocals make you feel like you're on a mystical island, they are so calm and soothing. Even when these songs get into there rock based parts he still sounds calm and relaxed. "Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone" was one of my favorite indie pop albums of all time, this is just an average indie-pop ep. What makes it so average? I really can't tell. The riffs seem catchy and sugary as well as the keyboards. Maybe it's that the songs don't have there edge. There doesn't seem to be a lot of energy in any of these tracks. Even though the lead singers voice is soothing, you can tell that these songs seem uninspired. Once again these songs are not bad, but you can tell that the songs don't have the energy they used to.
Overall I think this is your average indie-pop album. There is nothing exciting or incredible about this and there is nothing awful either. I guess I'm just upset because this didn't lead up to the expectations of the Unicorns debut. Even though both of "The Unicorns:2014" are decent tracks they are the same song and don't do much. The two middle tracks sort of mesh together and don't do much for me. None of these tracks are unlistenable, but none of them really jump out at me. I would recommend this to fans of indie-pop or to diehard fans of The Unicorns. If you own "Who Will Cut Our Hair..." and liked it then you probably shouldn't waiste your time on this. If you're a diehard Unicorns fan than you may find this to be an excellent ep. I think this is an average indie-pop/rock ep, the Unicorns didn't impress me but there isn't a lot to complain about.
Overall Rating 2.5/5
Album Art : http://media.bestprices.com/content/music/80/517388.jpg
Pros:
"The Unicorns: 2014"
Some nice guitar riffs
Vocals
Cons:
Nothing Amazing
Has its dull moments
Too poppy at times
Recommended Track(s) -
"The Unicorns: 2014"
