• Band / Artist : The Haiku – mySpace
• Genre : Alternative / Folk Rock
• Sample Track Download : N/A
• Buy CD : Band Store
• Buy Digital Download : iTunes
• Rating : 8 out of 10

I love the raw, indie rock sound, which I hear more coming from the UK than anywhere else. It’s very reminiscent of the 1980’s, which washes over me like a wave of nostalgia. The Haiku are a band I’d heard on a few podcasts, prompting me to approach them for something for review. The band at the time were working on a new album, but fired over this 4 track EP.

“Things Will Get Better” is the first track and you are immediately greeted with a wash of acoustic guitar, which I just love. The track runs at a fair pace and is very enjoyable. “Blind Man Takes the Gun” has a very long intro, taking around 30 seconds to get to the vocals, and unfortunately never really got into it’s stride for me. “You Don’t Have a Choice” is perhaps the strongest track on this 4 track EP and in fact the longest at a tad under 4 minutes. “Taking Control” is the final track to an interesting and and fairly enjoyable EP.

The only reservation I have is that the production of this material leads me to believe it’s recorded pretty much as live, as it sounds very much a live performance, rather than a fully produced studio effort. The drumming also was a little off in places, but if taken as a live session recording, didn’t detract too much from the songs. The songs themselves don’t have the conventional verse / chorus make up, which is OK for a track or two, but they all seem to have that feel, which means they do feel sometimes to be going on a little long.

Conclusion : An interesting EP which serves as a stepping stone to the bands first album, featuring the track “The News is: The World Sucks”, probably my favorite Haiku track. It will be interesting to see how the bands sound has developed between this track and the new album.