If one were to make a criticism of Super Extra Bonus Party, it would be that they try a little too hard. The band have crammed in a crazy number of different styles on their debut album, and even within individual tracks, they have a habit of taking sonic detours that are not to the listener’s benefit.
‘Softly’, for instance, is a quite breathtaking song for most of its duration; warm xylophone and piano notes trickle over light, puckering rhythms in a manner that calls to mind Boards Of Canada at their best. Then, the band foolishly loses its cool, and races to a frantic, guitar-blasted climax.
Closing track ‘Propeller’ is similarly frustrating; a gorgeous, brass-soaked, post-rock instrumental for the first few minutes of its existence, it once again builds ferociously and needlessly, ruining what could have been the record’s perfect concluding note.
This inconsistency is also evident in the group’s collaborations, and the tracks featuring Brazilian MC Rodrigo Teles are decidedly hit-and-miss. ‘Favourite Things’ juxtaposes his frantic Portuguese rapping with a twee sample of the Julie Andrews favourite of the same (well, similar) name, but the end product is more conceptually interesting than genuinely sonically engaging. ‘Son Varios’ is better: a dark, mid-paced hip-hop track, worthy of Massive Attack.
Iain Defector hooks up to deliver an unpleasant, grating vocal performance (which really should have been dropped lower in the mix, or scrapped altogether) on the otherwise-enjoyable dance-rock number ‘Erosion’. Nina Hynes’ collaborations are a considerable improvement, as the Dublin chanteuse’s tender cooing adds sweetness to both the airy folktronica of ‘Dorothy Goes Home’ and the tranquil ambience of ‘On The Skyline’.
The record delivers a few more successful sonic sidesteps, most notably the rubbery, stonking instrumental ‘Drone Rock’. Super Extra Bonus Party may yet be diagnosed with a severe case of musical ADHD, but isn’t it better to deliver sporadic, scattershot brilliance, than to remain consistently ordinary?