A Little Distraction - EP

Album Review

The Lucksmiths' A Little Distraction EP kicks off with one of the most enchanting pop songs of the year. "Transpontine" has a wonderful, easygoing melody and a sticks like glue chorus. Its melancholy wonder will have you wondering how a song this good could be anything less than on the lips of every pop-loving downloader in the world. The rest of the disc is almost as good. Main songwriter Marty Donald seems able to crank out near-perfect pop songs with frightening regularity. Each song has a beautiful melody and thoughtful lyrics. Each song also has the angelic vocals of Tali White. His voice is breathless and intimate with just enough awkwardness to keep it from being too smooth. Along with "Transpontine," some of the other tracks here rank right up there with the band's best: the sad, low-key "Moving" and the energetic and hooky "Successlessness." This EP is not a stopgap or a bunch of leftover songs (well, they may be, but they are great leftover songs), it is a record any Lucksmiths fan needs to have. In a perfect world, this, and all of the band's other releases, would be in everyone's collection.