In places this EP is excellent. In others it just doesn’t do much for me. If Sounds of Swami can iron out these inconsistencies they could be a very, very good band indeed and you could easily add a star to this score. Maybe more.
‘The Lions Share’ gets the EP off to a fantastic start. SOS are a band with something to say and their passion and energy is very well captured throughout. While there’s a Minor Threat/Fugazi influence I wouldn’t say the band sound like either of them that much. The songs are perhaps a little too long at times, none more so than ‘Political Politeness’ which would probably get the point across far better if it was about a minute shorter than it is. Ditto ‘Identitiy Crisis’, which, I believe, would sound better if it ended at around the 2:30 mark.
That said, lots of promise is on show here and I would hazard a guess at this band doing good things in the coming year. I think refining their songs and channeling the energy into snappier, punchier efforts would reap their rewards. Good stuff.