From start to finish, Carrboro band Some Army’s debut EP consists of seven fully-developed songs that seem to sprawl infinitely.
On the first track “Servant Tires,” the band’s blending of jangly beats and slow-to-build synth is complicated further by wailing guitar. As a whole, the EP provokes listeners, striking deep with its robust and varied stylings.
Throughout, songwriter Russell Baggett sounds strangely and wonderfully distant, as if lost in the complex sonorous sphere. The bursting instrumentation combines with subtlety and is a balance that Baggett and company maintain, making it an album that reels you in and keeps you engaged.
“Children of the Maiz” ends the EP on a higher note, with its twang-infused vocals and southern guitar. But the haunting middle track “Queens” serves as a segue to the album’s latter half, and continues to overlap shadowy reverb with dreamy pop swells.
Some Army’s songs exist where genre lines become nuanced and the atmospheric depth takes an unknown plunge. Whether it’s flowing pop, brooding electronica or hard rock, it’s clear the band embodies an expanding amalgam of sound.
And while its energy is certainly refined, that isn’t to say it is lacking. Some Army manages to pack musical punch into single soundscapes such that at times, it appears the whole thing might burst apart. But with strained patience, it keeps things tied down ever so slightly, leaving the listener to only imagine what other weaponry this army could be hiding up its sleeves.
To get the day's news and headlines in your inbox each morning, sign up for our email newsletters.
