Birds of Prestwich
The Final Opus EP

Taking the name of an old Toto song, opener ‘Hold the Line’ pairs a slow paced intro with some heavier and disjointed music. The singer has such a young voice, it makes you wonder why the EP lacks the force and energy of youth.

‘Expiry Dates’ has an almost electronic feel, a theme that they’ve run with throughout. It’s definitely not comforting music and loses your attention far too quickly. They believe music should be pure, but it should also be fun. And maybe it would be if they tried to be a bit less dreary and depressing. Guitar work on ‘The Final Opus 1’ is sparse but you don’t fail to notice it when it finally does appear.

‘Old Lies’ is musically one of the best tracks with some beautiful guitar fronted by what sounds like someone’s heavy breathing. However, after the long winded intro, you realise there’s another three minutes of instrumental and the whole song seems just a bit too drawn out.

You’d think it would be heartrending with its indignant and introspective taints but what it really needs is to have some life injected into it. Maybe what they’re trying to achieve is just something experimental and pure.