Francis Bowie’s début self entitled EP is an interesting mash-up of all kinds of weird and wonderful things.
Opener “Wasting My Time” slips perfectly into the electro-pop genre. It has a harsh stabbing synth bass over some intricate keyboard motif’s and some dreamy piano chords. Francis’ vocals are tuneful and sounds familiar but I really can’t think of where from. They like to veer slightly off chord at the end of some lines and it works really well with the slightly unkempt feel of the music.
“Endlessly” is a bit more electronic driven but isn’t as immediately catchy as the previous track. It’s a bit darker despite the xylophone riff. It’s still a decent pop song but its one that takes a few listens to get right into. “Sunny Day” is the song we showed people in our introduction post of Francis Bowie and it’s still a simple, catchy and understatedly beautiful as it was when I first heard it. It’s primarily a four chord pop song but there’s so much else warping itself around the chords to keep you amused along with the offbeat drums. Great track. Closer track “Silly and Crazy” has a nice tempo change between verses and choruses and again takes a few listens to really appreciate but reminds me of an electro-pop slightly sleazy version of Voltaire.
Francis Bowie’s EP showcases two superb songs and two definite growers. There’s a lot of potential here and we at Higher Plain Music are excited to see what he can do with a full album.