DEMO is the debut Ep from the Swedish quartet WESTKUST. Unlike much of the very sugary pop music that one associates with Sweden, WESTKUST is decidedly on the post-punk side of the shoegaze spectrum. All the clichés are present and accounted for: jangly fuzzed out guitars, vocals pushed back in the mix and heavy doses of reverb all around. The 5 tracks are harder edged and the heavy guitars seem to blend into a cacophony of noise, only to be resolved into distinct parts just when all seems lost. Do I like the EP, yes. Do I love it, no. There seems to something lacking overall. The lo-fi sound, for this band, works against the music being presented. An odd statement for me as I'm a huge fan of lo-fi. I find myself wanting to hear the parts recorded clearly, so that the band's musicality comes through more. My feeling about this album comes down to not liking the production much. I like the songs. I like the way they’re played, but I don’t much like the way the EP sounds. See what you think. The EP can be streamed and downloaded for free at the link below.
