Inu, a three-piece project from San Francisco-based producer Mikael “Count” Eldridge, guitarist Tim Hingston and cellist Zoe Keating, has created an entertaining, catchy and easy to listen to handful of electro-pop track
s on their first EP dubbed Monster. Count is best known as a top-tier music producer and has worked with such artists as DJ Shadow, New Order, Radiohead, Lyrics Born, Galactic and Halou. Hingston, originally from the east coast, has been dabbling in experimental music and finding new sounds his whole life. After bringing his guitar and bass skills to the west coast to play with the aforementioned Halou, he met Count and began collaborating on a variety of new projects. This is how Inu initially came to life. And it only got better when the, “one-woman orchestra,” Zoe Keating, jumped on board.
The experimental rock music is an interesting mix of electro-pop with a healthy dose of guitar, drums, bass, cello and pretty smooth vocals to top it all off. The EP boasts five songs that establish primarily catchy beats from the get-go and show off the band’s “retrofuturistic techno-wizardry” throughout. The EP’s first song “The Bailing,” is a friendly mix of trippy and relaxing, and although it isn’t fast-paced and in your face, it sets the tone for the remainder of the album. The following song “Stephen Colbert,” is nowhere near as humorous as the Comedy Central late night icon, but does come out of the gate with a peppy, consistent drum beat and some lyrics that may resonate with some citizens of Colbert Nation. Lead singer, Count, sings, “They think they can compete, but he’ll out talk them all. Truth in lying. Exposing liars,” voicing his opinion on the news industry and praising Colbert for his effect on the media.
Rounding out the EP is “Disarmed,” “A Crowded Place” and “Captured,” which are more reserved tunes in comparison to the totally upbeat “Stephen Colbert,” but that does not mean they are a letdown. What that does mean is that they have simpler lyrics and a mish-moshy slowed down vibe. All three of these tracks are filled with drums, bass and that oh-so familiar electro sound that the two opening songs had in common, but at this juncture, Inu starts to sound all the same to me.
The stand-out song in this small sampling is definitely “Stephen Colbert,” and it is surrounded by an “interesting sound” that sounds eerily similar throughout. If you are looking for something different, and a lot of it at once, check out the Monster EP. It’s not bad; it’s interesting, entertaining, but at the end of the day, most of it is a consistent, easy to listen to collection of songs.
If you would like to download Inu’s first track “The Bailing,” head to http://www.inumusic.com/ before Dec. 15 and give it a listen on your own. As of now, Inu has finished their debut album and it is set for an early 2010 release.
Track Listing:
01. The Bailing
02. Stephen Colbert
03. Disarmed
04. A Crowded Place
05. Captured
Written by: Brandon Scott Wolf
