Hellooo! With New Hope Club supporting The Vamps on their Four Corners tour starting the end of this month, which I am SO EXCITED for, I have found myself loving listening to their music lately! I saw them supporting The Vamps last year and loved their set! I also LOVED their single, Medicine, which New Hope Club released last June and recently realised I somehow missed the release of their second EP back in October! When we saw them last year, I remember loving one song in particular which I couldn't find on their previous EP or anywhere in their back catalogue but I have now discovered it's on their new EP! So without further ado, let's get into this week's Favourites Friday, which is also an EP review!
Welcome to the Club Pt. 2 follows on from New Hope Club's debut EP, Welcome to the Club and contains four tracks. The first of these is Crazy! I liked the blend between the bass and guitar in the chorus and really liked the chorus. It's catchy and suits its place as the opening for the EP. Last June, New Hope Club released the single Medicine, which I LOVED and still love! I love the intro and the way the song starts out at a slower tempo before picking up in the pre-chorus. I also love the lead up to the chorus and the melody and balance of synths, bass and guitar in the chorus, along with the middle 8 instrumental section! Medicine is catchy and the lyrics are most definitely relatable! Track 3 on the album is Karma and I LOVE the guitar in the chorus and the chorus as a whole! I like that the vocals are pitched lower, contrasting with the higher vocals in Crazy, showing the range of the band. I love the rhythm and it's another solid song on the EP!
The final track on the EP, and my personal favourite, is Let Me Down Slow (Live at the O2) and as much as I LOVE this version of the song, I wish there was a full studio version! I remember hearing them play the song and thinking "YES I need to find this song so I can listen to it on repeat until I get sick of it" and although I'm late to the party, I have definitely been listening to the song on repeat and I am not yet sick of it! I like that they chose to include the talking at the start of the song to enhance the 'live' aspects of the recording. I also like that they've left in just enough crowd noise to give you the feeling that you're at the gig, but without overpowering the band. I will say that some of the vocals definitely sound live as the volume levels fluctuate noticeably but aside from that, I think they've struck the balance between live and studio just right! Onto the actual song! I LOVE Let Me Down Slow! I particularly love the lyrics and melody in the chorus which leads into the instrumental drop perfectly! I also love the instrumentation in the chorus and it makes me want to be back in the arena dancing along to the track! I hope the band decide to release a studio version at some point but for now, this live version will be on repeat!
There's not a bad song on the Welcome to the Club Pt. 2 EP and together, they form a cohesive EP. Reece, Blake and George all have unique voices that work well together and the EP showcases their talents well! My two stand outs are Medicine and Let Me Down Slow (Live at the O2) and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they release a studio version of the latter at some point! As a CD collector, I do wish that they'd released a physical version of the EP, unless they have and I just can't find it anywhere! I love this EP and CANNOT WAIT to see New Hope Club supporting The Vamps on tour!
Thanks for reading!
Sophie
