See Green’s Violet EP is a rowdy blast of synthy, poppy fun. It’s easy to listen to, and it almost rolls down the windows on your car for you. The upbeat, sunny music draws a lot on nineties and eighties radio pop, but updates the sound with the inclusion of strange and interesting instruments and sounds.
Those instruments (a glockenspiel and very strange synths, most prominently) make the EP what it is. They’re also slightly off-putting in their unique qualities. When the band settles down and just cranks out a chorus, it’s almost always pure gold; Courtenay Green (who is the primary artist behind See Green) has the melodic gift that so many other bands covet. The rest of the songs, with their quirky instrumentation and songwriting, never cross the line from “weird” to “endearing.”
Future efforts should refine and mold the sound, and the rough edges will either get knocked off or transform into something even more distinct. Either direction is fine; more stomping pop like “Get What I Want” would be welcomed, while “Goldmine” would probably be less awkward if it just went the straight-up prog route instead of hopping back and forth between prog and pop.
Violet is a solid EP. It establishes Green as an artist, drops some good tunes and shows avenues for future growth and direction. It’s not perfect, but it’s fun, and that covers a multitude of wounds.