Ahead of a headline show at the 02 Academy on 6th December, SPINN present a four-track acoustic EP where they strip back and rewire a few of their fan favourites. Popular tracks Who You Are, Is There Something That I Missed & Foundations are the selected few to be revamped alongside a cover of the Lana Del Rey hit Video Games as the Liverpool band present themselves in a new light.
First in the chair is Who You Are and the acoustic guitar is prominent straight away as SPINN take you down an alternate route from the prior one. This is more a stroll on a brisk Sunday morning than the previous razz through the country lanes in the height of summer. A pleasant experience none the less and sets up the tracks to follow perfectly. If you think that was different, then how do you feel about a Lana Del Rey cover? Surprised? A bit. Excited? Perhaps. Intrigued? Definitely. “Cop for Video Games then” SPINN exclaim. I think it’s always brave when an upcoming artist takes on a cover of an established star such as Lana as naturally the cover will always be compared to the original. You definitely have to back yourself. Thank god that SPINN back themselves as this works a treat. It’s simplicity in it’s finest form. Just a keyboard and vocal arrangement which has you gazing intently into the distance, feeling the emotion of this huge number. Extremely clever by the Liverpool band who trust the vocals of their frontman and it turns out to be a lovely recreation of a beautiful ballad. Big credit to them.
SPINN dig the acoustic guitar back out for Is There Something I Missed and duly lift the tempo. Of all the revamps, this seems to be the most subtle in terms of melody and tempo only that the strings have been re-arranged. Don’t discredit them though, the rewiring is a success as they keep all that is good about their original. It remains roar and youthful staying very pleasing as we hear of the struggles of a flailing relationship and the intrigue of it missing something. A nice salvo from SPINN amidst the slower, heavier feeling in the other tracks. The local lads go out in style with the popular track Foundations. Stripped back again and for me it’s the highlight of the EP. It sounds similar to Hozier and could proudly hold it’s own on one of their albums. Pure emotion and heart on the sleeve stuff from SPINN but in a gentle and softer manner which very much adds to the experience. They obviously back this number and rightly so. A fitting way to end this bold experiment justifying and giving credence to the project.
It begs the million-dollar question for 6th December, will SPINN revert to type and bring the guitars back out, or will they stick with the acoustic and keyboard? You’ll have to go and see them to find out. Crafty, you’ve got to admit. They’re inside your heads now. More importantly, they’re inside your ears. They say fortune favours the brave. This was a very bold move. Let’s hope they can reap the rewards.
To find out more about SPINN visit https://www.facebook.com/spinnband/
The SPINN Acoustic EP is available to stream on all platforms – https://spinn.lnk.to/AEP
Jamie Hankin
