the Rec aren’t like anything you’d have come across. The U.K based post punk outfit are a far cry from normalcy, an undeniably artful and experimental production style that gives them a pulsating and inherently invigorating energy that’s subtle rather than blunt in force and style. With the duo having been making and tinkering with music since the ’80s, they’re current sound is measured and sculpted with purpose behind each decision. The four tracks on this EP are actually what they recognised as some of the best elements from their early work and writing. These songs were originally released as part of an album called town slang, which at the time was described as “a welcomed reminiscence of what music used to be like and could perhaps be again.
In style and structure, the record has everything from washed over and energetic post punk to more slow and melancholic piano driven ballads. ‘this is the rec’, the show stopping blockbuster opening piece is loaded with verve, an ode to Friday nights in their hometown and the undying youthful energy that made those nights feel so unforgettable. It’s got bits of shoegaze, lots of punk, and a sheen coating it that makes it infectious all around. But on ‘Factory Lil’, it’s almost as if you’re thrown into a new album altogether. Here, the song is far more sombre, an entirely morose piano driven ballad that starkly sets itself apart from the opener.
The EP is very keenly rooted in a sense of space and location, a consequence of the track’s own past and the duo’s storied history together. Don’t sleep on them.