Musically, this seems like a logical evolution for SND. A few true SND heads (yes, they exist) claim that SND loosens up whenever they release EPs, since there isn’t the same level of attention and pressure that comes with a full release. Often there’s a greater emphasis on emotional content than what tends to be the case with an entire album. 4,5,6 showed this off to some degree.
I mention 4,5,6 because this EP has a lot in common with that overlooked artifact. The songs on here go into deeper bass frequencies (don’t worry; they’ve kept the skeletal structure that made them famous). On the first track, which stretches out longer than anything they’ve done before, the flirtation with multiple chords is wonderful. Brief glimpses of those lower pitched sounds eventually overtake the track by the end. It is that conflict which makes the track so immersive.
The lower hits segue into the second paradise track. Here the beat becomes more prominent. Handclaps try to anchor the whole thing, but the different variations on the same pattern make it difficult to keep hold. With the final track, there’s actually the closest they’d get to a beat workout for the first half of the song. Right in the middle of the track they get into whatever they count as melody.
Obviously, with any SND album, you’ll need good headphones for this. Indeed, SND’s releases were one of the main reasons I brought such ridiculously over sized headphones in the first place. Shame about the unavailability of the songs due to the fickle nature of the label, but it is worth seeking out.