Dead Jerichos – Please Yourself EP

Before I begin to review this CD, I have to express my distaste at it being referred to as an EP. Please Yourself is comprised of two songs. There are four songs on the EP, but the third and fourth songs on the EP are remixes of the first and second songs. This is all well and good, but their are a couple of issues here. Although the loops and samples used to create the remixes might be the band’s work, the remixes are not. You are essentially being given both of the songs twice, but dressed up differently. This to me seems rather cheap, as I’m sure the band would have had other songs they could well include on the EP, instead of just reusing the two songs already featured.

Thankfully, the two tracks that comprise Please Yourself are actually really good. They have a distinctly rich feel to them, produced by their use of chunky bass lines and echo filled guitar soundscapes. The drums are tight as hell too, and give it coherence that some bands tend to lose when using heavy delays and reverbs. As for the vocals, they aren’t the sweetest and most tuneful you’ll ever hear, but they work perfectly, and give the songs some urgency.

In terms of the remixes, the one done for the title track isn’t brilliant. It seems to be an attempt at a Dub version of the song, but really just comes off as amateur (Whistles? Really? They should only ever feature in football songs). However, the ‘Spaces and Sounds’ remix is pretty good. It has a lovely serene ambience, which contrasts with the odd yelped vocal, and feels like a nice closer to the EP.

Ultimately, the two songs featured on this EP are great, and one of the remixes is worth a listen, but it would’ve been much better to hear four completely original songs. These guys seem to have a lot of potential, and I hope that whatever they do next, it is more developed than a glorified double A side single.