Review: Switches : We Are Switches EP

Switches
We Are Switches EP
Label: Interscope
Release Date: March 18, 2008

Wow, an EP with a March release date hit our mail box this week. Here I am trapped under 4 inches of snow with 4 more expected this weekend, and the last thing you’re probably thinking about is your March must-buy list.

But London quartet Switches are more concerned with getting some…err…any buzz in the states given that three of these tracks were on their postponed April ‘07 LP, Heart Tuned to D.E.A.D. with no release date in sight.

Worse, “Lay Down The Law” and “Message from Yuz” are off an EP from summer of 2006. Why worse? Because “No Hero,” the newer track, is the weakest.

Walking that fine line between glam Britpop and cheesy self-mockery (ala Diamond Knights, Darkness), Switches have spent too much time ruffling their feathers and need to get a unified sound (and vision, frankly) in front of U.S. ears if they’re really going to make sounding like so many other bands their profession. Especially with New York’s Apes and Androids’ “futurist orchestra” so elegantly mastering the genre/gender mashup these days.

You’ll probably dig the tracks below if you like Franz Ferdinand, Hives, Hot Hot Heat, The Darkness or T. Rex/Queen/Blur influenced groups.

Track Listing

• 1. Lay Down The Law (stream)
• 2. Drama Queen (stream)
  
• 3. Message From Yuz
• 4. No Hero

Here’s some footage of the group at Filter Magazine performing an acoustic set of tunes and chatting about trying to blend Franz Ferdinand with Blur, the perks of rehearsing next door to a brothel and the fickleness of hipsters.

Overall, March is a perfect release date for this EP. We Are Switches comes in like a lion and out like a lamb. The question is, can this band roar all summer with the same three songs as the last two years?

Update: Turns out the label was a tad confusing in their reckless mailing of this preview-only- but-not-labeled- preview-only EP, and therefore some of the above commentary about late EPs and unfortunate timing is incorrect:
“The Switches currently have two EPS out: Lay Down The Law and Drama Queen. The CD we sent you (We are The Switches) is a combination of both EPs only used for promotional purposes and will not be sold in stores.”

So there you go. Silly switches.