EP Review: Lapyear – Smile EP

Hertfordshire quartet Lapyear have just dropped their new EP ‘Smile’ through Venn Records; their first for the label. The emo/indie rockers, formed back in 2018, have seen a couple of tracks already achieve airtime on the likes of Triple J and Kerrang! Radio. Drawing a path of sonic influence through Grunge, Britpop and Shoegaze, the band has been highly praised for their development of a meticulously crafted sound – showcased here across 5 tracks.                             

A choppy rhythm introduces opening song ‘See Inside’, before it surges in on a gleaming guitar line. The verse simultaneously clatters and twinkles, and then thunders into an inexplicably euphoric plea: “Won’t you kick me while I lose everything; drag me under you,” – it’s offset alluringly by a cavernous middle-eight inhabited by rising, vaporous vocals. New single ‘Under My Tongue’ is more of a mid-pace chug, speckled with effects-washed arpeggios. Again, it breaks into a hefty, lofty chorus that lingers around in the looping outro. A bubbling bassline carries ‘Only One’ through undiluted alt vibes territory. “I’ll ignore the warning signs; leave my past mistakes behind,” muses vocalist Chris Ian Burton, inbetween a guitar break/hook borrowed from the definitive 80s indie songbook. ‘Negative (I Wish I Was)’ is a previous single. An introspective verse/pre-chorus structure creates flickers of space that trickle down into a torrent of dense chorus chords, topped off with soaring vocals; while the acoustic-flavoured drowsiness of ‘Puzzles’ closes out the EP with its late night vibes, and clarity of imagery that ultimately descends into a warming, harmonised fade out.

 Like towering alt rock with a sombre, spectral slant? ‘Smile EP’ is out now to stream via Spotify. Lapyear have pages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.