Review
PRE-ORDER ITEM : Expected November 30th -0001. This item will only be shipped to you on or after the official release date. Please note any orders containing pre-order items won't be shipped until all items are available, so please order this separately to avoid delays. Please remember that release dates are at the mercy of labels, distributors, and pressing plants and will change constantly.
Following the release of their ‘Simple Science’ EP in August last year, Sam Hardaker and Henry Binns, better known as Zero 7, announce they have a new E.P. coming this Spring. As a nod to their very early, pre-major label days and the very first music they released; ‘E.P.1’ and ‘E.P.2’, this new E.P. is entitled ‘E.P.3’. Speaking of the new music, the band said, “Late last year we finished a couple of stray songs we'd been working on and have been trying to find a suitable home for them since. As they didn't really fit with much else we were doing at the time, they were put aside while we thought about what to do with them…. To us, they seemed to share something with the Mark Hollis cover we did a while ago so we've buddied them up and thrown in a little instrumental for good measure and come up with the imaginatively entitled it 'E.P.3'. Hope you enjoy.” Once again, the band called on some previous collaborators to feature on the E.P. Australia’s Danny Pratt features on lead track ‘400 Blows’, which finds the duo in exquisite form, positioning soft electronics, alongside some gorgeous piano passages, all stitched together with their wonderfully atmospheric, cinematic production. On second track ‘The Colour of Spring’, London’s Only Girl lends her luscious, dulcet voice, complimenting the song’s dark, brooding soundscapes perfectly. ‘Last Light’, the third track on the EP, features the inimitable José González, delivering an unmistakable vocal performance. Next is ‘Crush Tape’ is a wonderful, experimental electronic instrumental, closing the vinyl EP in excellent fashion. And the good news from the Zero 7 camp doesn’t stop there and it seems ‘E.P.3’ is a taster of what’s to come, with a full album, their first in five years, planned for Autumn release. The band comments, “We are currently working on new tracks and will let you know about release plans as soon as we have them. There will definitely be more to come in the summer!”