By Ryan Pike
Winnipeg is a city that produces more than its fair share of good music — bands like the Guess Who and the Weakerthans all call the ‘Peg home. Now tack The Details onto that list. The band manages to produce songs that are a noxious blend of catchy and dark.
The first track “The Original Mark” is a powerful song filled with dramatic guitar which then slides into “On Uniform the Details,” showing the band’s grittier country side. The song has compelling and well-written lyrics that convey an emotion-laden parable. With scratchy guitar riffs that would be right at home in a country saloon layered over bluesy vocals, the song is bittersweet. It’s followed by the band’s take on a Christmas carol in “Strings and Ribbons,” a song about being unemployed at Christmas. In no way cutesy or religious, “Strings” is rough, abrasive and still covers all the themes a Christmas song should. “Floor Plans,” a remix of one of the songs off The Details’ first album, sounds like Death Cab for Cutie slowed down with a dash of blues-guitar.
The EP is a precursor to an LP that the band hope to release in the future. If The Original Mark is any kind of an indication, having more songs can only be a good thing for The Details.