| 15 November 2010
On their debut self-titled EP, Tall Ships showed themselves to be something of a musical curio; the EP itself a rare oddity. Consisting of four songs, each as different to the next as could possibly be, Tall Ships not only defied categorisation, but established themselves to be a truly unique band with a vast amount of potential.
On the band’s second EP, There Is Nothing But Chemistry Here, Tall Ships seem content to hammer home two points; that they still refuse to conform to any single musical category, and that they have an almost unnatural talent for writing songs with enormous finishes. Of the five tracks available on the EP, practically all end with outros so monumental that it’s hard not to become captivated by the EP, and its ridiculously catchy songs.
However, it’s not all good news, as while the outros will likely ensnare the most skeptical of listeners, the songs themselves sometimes feel a little underwhelming in comparison, and on a couple of the tracks, the main bulk of the song feels like little more than padding in the lead up to the epic final flourish. This is especially true of the track “Ode To Ancestors” which, whilst not a bad song, contains some truly cloying lyrics, but later gives rise to one of the best endings on the EP – a chorus of vocal harmonies that builds, track upon track, before reaching a triumphant crescendo, just in time to leave the chorus permanently stuck inside your head.
It could easily be said that There Is Nothing But Chemistry Here represents both the best and worst work of Tall Ships’ – admittedly short – career so far, and whilst that would technically be true, it would also be doing the band something of a disservice; when the EP is at its worst, it’s little more than mildly disappointing, but when it’s at its best, such as on tracks “Plate Tectonics” and “Snow”, it’s something truly special and unique. Whilst the EP may have a couple of rough spots, it does so many things right that it becomes remarkably easy to overlook its faults.
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