Owen, who is
Mike Kinsella, continues with sensitive songwriting on
EP, released by Polyvinyl.
Kinsella always leans toward the emo side of things, which is to be expected considering his past, but he manages to be tasteful and not overly melodramatic, mingling reflective lyrics of relationships and the subtleties of life against gentle guitars and the occasional tight drumming as on "Skin and Bones."
Kinsella's vocals, with their sense of longing and delivery, work well against the music. "That Mouth" and "Gazebo" touch on an emotional side that brings in slowcore and shoegaze elements along with washes of guitar effects, keyboards, and vibraphone, and sounding similar to Days in December,
Karate, or even
Ida. This short, melancholic
EP is a successful outing by
Owen that leaves you with sadness and longing for something you can't quite pinpoint. ~ Francis Arres