Already getting rave reviews, the new EP from Talk Show is a indie pop synthwave classic. Frontman Harrison Swan has swagger and at moments sounds like Eddie Argos or Art Brut mixed with Mike Skinner of The Streets but also at moments is also doing his best Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip impression. The Hot Chip influence is not wonder since members of Hot Chip worked closely with the band to produce it. “For this EP we wanted it to feel like a new version of the band,” says frontman Harrison Swan. “Out with the old. We felt the only option we had was to be pretty ballsy and push ourselves way more than we had ever done previously. We sacked off loads of material, and knew there was no going back. We made sure that it was still energetic and dynamic but with a different kind of take to it. It’s why we started referencing a completely different pool of influences such as electronica and trip-hop. To be honest, it then just started to feel really natural and we ran away with it. I’ve never had so much fun in this band, playing as this new version of who we are, with new songs, and new crowds, genuinely I love it. I’ve just stopped caring what anyone else thinks about me or my band. That’s been the biggest thing I’ve taken from writing Touch the Ground.”
As is the sumilar story with many artists in the post Covid world, everyone was locked away with their own thoughts and are now releasing the wonderful introspective but somewhat unhinged creations done during lockdown. "It was hard to keep motivation up and keep morale high," Harrison reflects on the two years of stop-start frustration thanks to Coronavirus (the first lockdown began the same week they released their debut EP, These People, in 2020). Yet canceled gigs led to more time for Talk Show to get into the studio, to become ever more focussed, to develop what Harrison describes as their "obsession" with getting it right. "That's the only thing that could get us through".
At one point the band decided to scrap everything they had been working on to move in the new direction you hear on this EP which is already available on all streaming services and a tour starting on September 29th. The band explains that working with members of Hot Chip to produce this EP was an open dialogue and they pretty much provided icing on the cake with lots of studio tricks and tips they used on their own albums.
This new EP for Talk Show is in stark contrast to the more straight forward indie rock band approach they took on their 2020 album "These People" and in this critics opinion it works better with the vocals. The mix of synthwave and elctronica (two words I think are synonamous ) really helped to solidfy this bands music and bring them to a new level. Sometimes it just takes a world wide pandemic to break you down and inspire you to new heights. Overall a straight to the point EP that trims the fat and through a great palette of tones turns a simple indie rock band into something more sonically complex.
Tour Dates:
September 29 - London, UK @Dingwllas, IFF festival.
October 1 - Bristol, the UK @ Ritual Union, Various Bristol Venues
October 6 - Bristol, UK @ Rough Trade Bristol, Live + Signing
October 22 - Cardiff, UK @ Swn Festival
November 09 - Paris, FR @ Olympic Café
November 10 - Amsterdam, NL @ Toekomstmuziek
November 11 - Berlin, DE @ Cassiopeia
November 12 - Weissenhäuser Strand, DE @ Rolling Stone Beach