MiniBoone’s “Big Changes” opens up with “Summer Jam”. Building up from a thumping bass-line and layered backing-vocals, the drums tap along before the song hits a high with the line “Tell me why I feel the way I do”, introducing a light-hearted xylophone-like melody. It’s a pretty good opener.
But the second track. I mean, wow. Just wow. “Cool Kids Cut Out of the Heart Itself” has to be the most fun I’ve had listening to something for quite a while. It just bounces. It’s lively. Admittedly I’m a massive sucker for the kind of fun drum beats and light guitar riffs that feature in it, but the song has so much more to offer. Clocking in at just under 2 minutes, combined with some “Hey!”’s and “Shoo-doop-doo”’s, this is a brilliant track. It’s excellent.
Another great stand out is “Devil in Your Eyes”. There’s another nice progression, with notably infectious verse lines. It’s just catchy, and is a bit more of a longer track than “Cool Kids…”. Though they do both work very well close to each other.
Though they don’t have the same instant effect as the earlier tracks, “I Need” and “Funny Money” aren’t bad at all, with the latter being an excellent closer for “Big Changes”. All in all it’s a catchy and fun EP.
This is the tough bit though. I really want to describe MiniBoone in a way people can relate to them, without attaching a negative stigma to them. I’d say indie-rock, but that’s too broad a term. They’re something a bit more original and musical. Something that you, yes even you, can even appreciate and like. Download “Devil in Your Eyes”. Listen to it. Think “Hey, I don’t have to pretend to be so elitist anymore. I can listen to this stuff that has guitars and sounds kinda cool, maybe even poppy. I don’t have listen to obscure noise or experimental hipster music (though there’s nothing wrong with that if you’re into that stuff). I’m cool with this music too.” Do it. It will make you feel happy and good inside. That’s the best way I can describe them. Anything else would just seem trivial and mediocre, because they have to be heard to be differentiated from the flock of mind-numbingly-boring bands out there.
I think I’m starting to understand why they titled it “Big Changes”. I can see this EP making some fairly big changes and advances for the band as a whole if they keep it up. It’s a solid set of tracks, and I’m sure with some touring and promotion of it, it’ll get the reception it deserves.
Score: 3.5/5 (Good)
Grab a free download of “Devil in Your Eyes” here.
You can check out a blog here, and visit their Bandcamp page here. You can very conveniently stream the whole EP there and buy it if you’re so inclined.
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