New EP Review

Screaming Maldini
Restless Hearts And Silent Pioneers



Restless Hearts And Silent Pioneers is the latest offering from the Sheffield 6 piece Screaming Maldini, although before any visions of steel, Arctic Monkeys and Richard Hawley flicker through your fringed brows these mis-guided stereotypes couldn't be further from what is hidden in the grooves of this new EP. With influences collected from Arcade Fire to more abstract and almost Disney influenced classic sweeps that just well….make you smile and brighten your day.

This 4 track EP includes a varied array of sounds and arrangements complete with christmas bells and ghostly harmonies over some old fashioned craft songwriting which is very much against the grain of the times as most bands seem to turn their nose up at a hook, a whistleable chorus and a song that you remember after hearing it for the first time, those cads!. Tracks here include the immediate title track, which begins in an almost Bloc Party (sorry) vein before building up the arrangement with a dance bass line and unfolding circular piano figure which references Coldplay in a world where they actually enjoy themselves and stop crying long enough to smile.

Other tracks include the trumpet led instrumental 're Sledging' along with its classical motifs and whistling clarinet is a pleasure to listen to and the only downside to it would be at clocking in at 2 mins 44 seconds it's not long enough, and although building up into a crescendo it seems to end abruptly. Spoilsports. 'The Dreamer' follows with its full production and vocal choir singing the melody and is one of the few tracks that includes a standard overdriven guitar which is almost shocking when it arrives as it hasn't been something that is missing from other tracks which in itself is a triumph in the rock and pop genre which is dominated by it's inclusion and over use.

Screaming Maldini seem to live in a world where Bacharach and Brian Wilson hang the moon and more alternative bands like Mercury Rev and The Flaming Lips are the bench mark they aim towards as opposed to the latest Babyshambles track to leak from the web. Classic and zen-beauty. File next to Deserter Songs and Song Cycle.

www.myspace.com/screamingmaldini
http://thefourohfive.com/reviews/3319