Welcome The Tourist remind me a little of The Maple State when I first came across them a few years ago. With an indie sound drenched in cool poppy synthy parts, the band marry Minus the Bear‘s lo-fi elements with Motion City Soundtracks overtly poppy bits really, really well – even if it shouldn’t technically work. This four-tracker shows plenty of promise. It’s not earth-shatteringly new or original, but the vocals hit the spot and the choruses are catchy enough to make you want to listen again and again. The synth is really well used; it’s not too loud and it’s not used too often, making tracks like ‘The Guardian’ catchy yet demure. They’re clearly an unassuming bunch because the tracks just nicely nestle in your head, not too catchy to piss you off but not too subtle you end up missing the point. A very nice 4-track introduction, it will be interesting to see where the band go from here.
