Awek's self-titled debut EP stumbled across my ears recently. This New York quartet writes quick and tight indie-styled pop/rock songs—so quick, in fact, that this entire 5 song EP clocks in at a mere twelve and a half minutes. Albeit brief, this disc offers a snapshot of a young and potentially promising band. Their sound is far from original, but it is difficult to be too hard on a well-crafted indie rock song.
Two songs on this disc stand out as excellent indications of the band's potential. "Phototype" contains all of the hooks and frantic energy that was always associated with early Pavement and early Guided By Voices. The band settles into a very nice groove that makes it hard to not tap your feet or bob your head. Every guilty pleasure you would want is present - the jangling guitars, well-placed snare snaps and somewhat buried vocals. At a minute and a half, the rush is sublime. "Annie Hardly Listens Now" further demonstrates the band's ability to turn out a nice two-minute-or-less rocker. A little slower than "Phototype", the sound remains quite nice and catchy. A third song, "Is It This Easy?," is almost on par with these other two tracks. It's fun and similar to the others, but the overall sounds propel the others to the top of the heap.
While there are some shining moments on the disc, there are some tracks that also display the band's current limitations. "Say Goodbye" features some truly grating vocals. While the track itself doesn't sound that bad, the vocal work noticeably distracts from the rest of the track. With a small five-song frame of reference to work from, it would seem that the sound in this vocal track is somewhat of an anomaly. "Guess Whose Birthday's Coming" also fails to meet the higher standard set by some of the EP's other tracks.
Awek doesn't offer anything ground breaking over the course of this EP, but there are some pleasant moments to pick from. The stronger tracks also indicate that good things could very well be in the future from this band.
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