Review by Shannon Shumaker
One Flew West’s new EP, Selective Memory starts with a bang and promises to keep listeners entertained and eager for more throughout all five songs. Each track on this EP has its own distinct sound, but as a whole it has a very solid sound as well, a feat that is hard for many bands to achieve on a five song EP. One Flew West, however, pull it off effortlessly, giving listeners five memorable, crisp and well written songs.
“Had It All” kicks off Selective Memory with big, bright horns, and is sure to put you in a good mood right away. This song is everything an opening track should be – it’s crisp, warm, inviting and the vocals are catchy and soothing at the same time. The entirety of “Had It All” is very upbeat and easy to listen to. The following song, “Kind Of Love” is going to be the track that puts One Flew West on the map, though, and for many reasons. Musically, this track takes a more folky route than “Had It All” with acoustic guitar, but is still very upbeat and fun to listen to, especially when the horns come in later in the song. It’s the vocals and the blunt and straight to the point lyrics, however, that really make this song strong. Lines like, “You’re a sly she-devil and I hope you get hit by a bus,” are not only comical and fun to listen to, but they’re also relatable. “Kind Of Love” is about an unhealthy relationship, but instead of taking the sad and somber route, One Flew West keep things upbeat and catchy. The result is an incredibly relatable, comical and real song.
“Motion Sickness” follows “Kind Of Love,” and while energy seems to take a bit of a dip in this song, it still has many strong points, too. The lead guitar hook is strong and catchy, and the vocal runs in this song will make you want to sing along. Bringing up the second half of the EP is “In The Water,” which shows another amazing side of One Flew West. This acoustic song is emotional, personal and beautiful. The higher and softer vocals are different from the vocal work on the rest of the album, but the change is perfect, especially for a more mellow and emotional song. “In The Water” has that same crisp sound that makes the other songs on Selective Memory strong, but it also feels more stripped down and raw, especially in lines like, “How many stumbles does it take to hit the ground?”
Closing out Selective Memory on a positive note is “These Old Bones,” which holds some very pretty guitar work and beautiful vocal harmonies. “The dust will settle/Everything will be fine,” is a perfect message to close out the EP, and by the time “These Old Bones” comes to an end, I’m already longing for more. If One Flew West is capable of creating such diversity, strong songwriting and powerful messages and stories within five songs, I cannot wait to see what they do with a full-length.
Rating: 5/5
Listen to “Kind Of Love”
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