Oh joy, oh miserable bliss.
Understated, lyrical, edgy, emotional, inventive, intelligent, richly musical … my favourite UK release of the year by a long mile.
EP is a strange format. The last one that I remember really working as an EP was the Rolling Stones' "Five by Five" in 1965. Five songs that distill everything that's good about a band. Five tracks where each one stands proud and does something special. Five tracks unencumbered by the need to fill up two sides of an album or the 45 minutes of minimum acceptability.
And, in "Whitby by the sea" we have a classically wonderful finale that breaks your heart and teases your ears with subtle harmony shifts, a poignant story and bleakly fierce humour. "Oh what a wonderful night we had in front of us / Even though the promoter was unkind to us. / We will track you down like the dog you are" is sung in a mournful and gentle two part harmony with a beautiful tune and a band sound that shifts like sunshine and clouds across the North Yorkshire hills. Exquisite.
"Rusty Lake" has an excoriating harmonium-like sound and a laid back precision built feel that could be Granddaddy or Stephen Malkmus with bursts of overdriven energy in its chorus and drum attack. It's complex and many-layered. Twinkling and roaring at the same time.
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"I Do Ladies" is Emma's venture into the land of Sapphos. It rocks and it chuckles in a very GALITZA way. The band get to clap hands and thrash a bit too. Huge smiles all round.
"Out in the Woods" is a waltz with a horror film feel that echoes the chill of GALITZA's earlier "Stalker". It’s dreamy, hinting at the nightmarish, by dint of a pretty tune stretched through some slightly sinister keyboard lines.
"Our Descent" has Stevie Gonzales' vocals up front and an apple-crisp bass tune that answers each line as the song builds into a brutally frank description of a worsening relationship. This is a mature, heartfelt and moving song.
And, that's it. I mean that's it. With this release GALITZA have announced their last ever gig and Stevie's imminent decampment to Spain. The world has lost something very special, and doesn’t know it.
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