Sports: The Band, S/T EP

By Megashaun

In recent years, we’ve seen an increase in quality regarding the debut releases of bands. Now, there are many bands with such strong debuts that listeners can’t imagine how they can possibly get better. Toronto, Ontario’s Sports: The Band is certainly guilty of this. Their debut album, technically only an EP, sounds so mature you’d imagine the band has been together for ages instead of the few short years they actually have been around.

The opener, “Warn Me,” sounds like something that The Steven McDonald Group would have written in collaboration with Sam Roberts. Its laid-back rhythm is slower than what many have come to expect from a rock album intro, but this actually makes it more compelling. Rather than coming out rocking full force, Sports: The Band is slowly luring listeners with their soft-spoken vocal harmonies and deliberately airy guitar work.

“Cast Lots” is a decidedly more upbeat song, and when played in sequence is actually somewhat jarring, given that “Warn Me” ends on a somber note. Here, the band introduces us to its heavier side and musical themes that appear throughout the rest of the EP. After a somewhat chiptunes-y intro, the song kicks things up a notch and introduces big, distorted bass sounds, an unexpected percussion break, synth-heavy melodies, and gang vocals (a Toronto indie rock band staple).

Things get mellower again with the more whimsical “Syntax Error” in which Nathan Rekker, over a backdrop of mostly digital instruments, comes across as plaintive through his vocals. His lament of “Love’s no fair, got a syntax error” becomes a pun in the midst of the computerized sounds while Mike Small’s bass stands out as being an earthier, tangible presence capable of its own playful emoting, which in some way makes it appear as more of a back-up vocalist.

Switching the mood back to upbeat is the sugary “Fleetwood” which is the most East Coast-sounding piece on the EP. Rekker’s singing is complemented by Robin Hatch’s harmonies. It’s by far the most radio-friendly of the band’s songs and, although it crosses over the three-minute mark, is all too short.

Closing out the disc is “Sonnets” and in keeping with the pacing changes, it reverts things back to a slower pace. Here, Rekker’s vocals sound like they’re coming from an old, tinny radio speaker while the rest of the instrumentation carries the moody tune forward. While the song starts off sparse with “real” instruments, additional elements are introduced towards its drawn-out end, and before the disc stops spinning we’re treated to a unique mix of guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, and chiptunes.

Although this debut EP is short, it gives us a good taste of what we might come to expect from Sports: The Band in the future while also leaving room for speculation. I’d like to see them continue experimenting with electronic, computerized sounds in addition to traditional instruments as they’ve shown it’s something they can handle well. Despite the overall subdued and mellow tone of their EP, there’s a feeling throughout that they might be holding back the urge to kick down doors, turn their amps up, and scream. Still, as short as it is, this debut effort is so good that it’s hard to imagine which direction they’ll ultimately go in. At best, all we can really do is just sit back and hit play one more time. After all, “Sonnets” does segue nicely into “Warn Me.”

You can listen to the entire Sports: The Band EP on their MySpace page.