The Glasgow PodcART

The latest Cancel The Astronauts EP landed on my doorstep a few days ago and the first thing that struck me was the busy yet flawless packaging. It makes me very happy when EP covers have as much work put into them as all the other production.

‘I Am The President Of Your Fanclub And Last Night I Followed You Home’ is possibly one of the longest named EP’s I have ever encountered. However, I think it a contender for one of the more energizing and invigorating EP’s I have had the fortune of listening to.

Yes, it is an EP that is breezy and bouncy but it does of course have the underlying black humour that love and heartbreak bring. It does not bring the self-absorbed downer that those feelings usually force, instead its upbeat melodious passages amplified with the quirky vocals of Matthew Riley do well to counteract. It plays like a film, in the sense that a series of life’s scenes from the unsweetened realities to rapturous overcoming of its difficulties are projected.

Of course tracks like ‘Love Somebody’ are sung with liberation, alligned with the catchy guitar riff which is rhythmically (and quite cleverly) passed from vocals to guitar and then to bass to keep your head bobbing with happiness.

The ‘I Am The President….’ EP is both poignant and light hearted all at once. It will reflect many people’s daily experience of relationships and is told in a way that most can relate to. Musically, the stylistic variation is pleasing in a way that it reminds me of decent early 90’s  Britpop but also a certain New Romantic flavour. Hello world, Cancel The Astronauts have arrived!

Halina Rifai

Cancel The Astronauts Myspace

The EP can be purchased from the bands website:HERE!