Review: goodbyemotel – Wish Your Way EP

goodbyemotel hail from Melbourne in Australia. Perhaps their biggest claims to fame are that, firstly, Storm Thorgerson, designer of Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ among many other album covers, has agreed to do the artwork for their second album. In the meantime, they have released a compact and flab free EP of quality indie-rock, produced by Julian Mendelsohn.

The ringing guitar figure propelling opener ‘Redroom’ suggests Interpol but the lighter vocals and easy on the ear chorus is likely to appeal to fans of The Killers. There’s certainly no signs of post-punk on ‘Wish Your Way’ but the earnest indie rock sees the band at their peak with the frontman’s yearning vocal matched by a melancholic melody. ‘Remember’ is chiefly memorable for some rumbling percussion and some neat key changes which recall a slew of American college rock acts. This just leaves ‘Burning Since Sunday’, which is another decent track even if the chorus is a tad uninspired compared to the portentous verses.

goodbyemotel have a lot going for them with their crisp yet emotional vocals and some impressive, tightly knit arrangements. Their next album should prove that they can stretch out beyond their influences and live up to Thorgersen’s artwork too.

Web Sites:
goodbyemotel Official Site
goodbyemotel MySpace

Further Listening:
Interpol, The Killers, HIJK