Search - Unicorns :: Unicorns 2014

Pretty perky pop

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 01/01/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

""Unicorns 2014" serves as a good companion to "Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone" -- pretty, burbly pop with a sort of bright futuristic edge. The EP is not their best work, since a few of the four tracks aren't quite as good as they could have been, but it's a pleasant short listen.



It opens with the rippling, bursting-at-the-seams pop "The Unicorns: 2014," with its bubbling keyboard and fuzzy edges. It's followed up by the folkier "Emasculate The Masculine," delicate ballad "Evacuate The Vacuous (Outtake)," and finally "The Unicorns: 2014 (Demo Version)," which is rock-ier than the final product.



Don't expect anything as sugary as the cover suggests. Or the name, for that matter -- with a band called "the Unicorns," one expects pop music sugary enough to cause diabetes. Fortunately it's not -- it sounds like the upbeat little cousin of Of Montreal and the Flaming Lips, with its bright tunes and offbeat instrumentation.



The burbly electronics in the opening song won me over -- they're cute, but just rough and weird enough to avoid being cutesy. The demo is acceptable, but it pales in comparison to the final result -- it's uneven, and the vocals sound a bit out of control. "Emasculate the Masculine" and "Evacuate The Vacuous" take a softer twist, but don't lose the eerie edge of the music. The vocals are also pretty good, especially in the balladic numbers.



Despite a lackluster demo, the EP "Unicorns 2014" is a pleasant accompaniment to their debut album. Charming and fun, but avoids ever being cutesy."