Out Of Focus is the debut mini album by Yorkshire based Strange Pink who are a trio of Sam Forrest, Eddie Allen Logie and Dom Smith who have previously been in Sewage Farm, Mary And The Ram and The Parasite Twins among other bands. They recorded at Young Thugs Studio in York with Nick 'The Muscle' Russell producing and being mastered by Ed Woods.
The album opens with Pencil Chewer a full-on indie rocker that has a cool slacker Pavement type edge to the question, of if you care, or if you want my number or not, you should be bouncing off the walls to this if its played loud enough, we find out just how bizarre things can get.
Wonderland has a slow strummed intro to this tale of the morning after, it feels pensive, like you can barely take the morning glow in Wonderland, you hope everyone speaks softly if you are going to touch their skin, they are fragile yet hopeful that they will be happier than the guitars sound.
My Friend And You has a rumbling bass riff and galloping guitars with a propulsive sense of what makes the bonds between My Friend And You special, the staccato breakdown followed by the guitar runs is totally effective and totally mosh pit ready.
Lucky Charm is something they don't want to be, just a bauble on your arm, they want to be themselves, no matter what you might think of them. If you can't handle them as they are, you may as well get out of the bands lives, while the guitars fly in all sorts of directions against the clatter core drumming.
Boys Club is in the interstitial ground between Pixies and Dinosaur Jnr, grunge drenched guitars rise and fall to the sounds of what goes on in that Boys Club, we know why we wish they didn't exist.
The mini album closes with Nowhere a slower tune taking us to the middle of Nowhere, a place where the isolation is overwhelmed by the doomy drumming and constant questioning are you listening? Well are you, go on listen to Strange Pink you know you want too. This has a long slow outro like you're coming down from an intense trip.
Find out more at https://strangepink.bandcamp.com/album/out-of-focus https://www.facebook.com/strangepinkmusic
