The Shoelaces - EP

iTunes Review

This six-song EP is a great companion piece to The Submarines’ 2011 album Love Notes/Letter Bombs. But it’s also a great introduction to the arresting songs of the husband-and-wife duo of Jack Drag and Blake Hazard. “Shoelaces” opens with subtle electro textures; then sequenced beats and handclaps lay down a rhythmic foundation while distorted guitars intertwine with keyboards. Though their musicianship is both simple and dynamic, it’s the tug of war between the duo’s vocal harmonies and lyrical tension that reveals the kind of raw chemistry that can only come from songwriters who are romantically involved. And if their fuzzed-out guitars, jangling tambourines, and heavily reverberated singing get you craving The Jesus and Mary Chain, they come clean with a solid cover of the Reid brothers’ “Just Like Honey.” (Drag sings lead on this one.) The Submarines’ attraction to electronic accompaniment can be heard in their rendition of New Order’s “Your Silent Face.” They also deliver two intimate-sounding four-track demos of “Shoelaces” and “Fire” before closing on a piano version of their own “You, Me and the Bourgeoisie.”