The latest project from London producer, DJ and multi-instrumentalist Will Hedges is his first foray into the solo alt-pop world. His record, the four-song EP Be Your Friends seeks to incorporate a slew of multi-genre and multi-decade musicians to come to a finish of what Hedges says is an “amalgamation of these things and not a rip off of any.” The bands which he is referring to here are such big names as the Beatles and Nick Cave, ‘90s club favorites The Chemical Brothers as well as lesser known stars of the ever blurred category of indie rock genre from the last few decades such as The Brian Jonestown Massacre and Spiritualized, bands that don’t necessarily always play music that is easily slotted into a tight categorical slot.
For Be Your Friends Hedges has adopted the moniker El Cid, and under this auspicious nameplate he serves up some delightful ditties that seek to blend all the best from these aforementioned bands and hoping to make something of a blender-record of sorts that plays along the lines of pop and rock with the occasional bit of electronic fervor thrown in for good measure. The result is a short and sweet and also highly listenable EP full of songs that recall the last few decades of Brit pop et al. Be Your Friends opens with the radio friendly “Be Your Friends.” A stripped down electronic beat serves as the bounce and catch as an equally stripped down bass-guitar strum combine to pull the listener in from the very first and keep the feeling going to the end. It’s a classic brit-blues sort of feel to it that Oasis used on their first two records, mixed in with a little bit of the back-slapping clubbiness that Happy Mondays used to secrete their most memorable songs. Next “Round the Bend” employs this same stripped down sound mixture of half-rock and half electronic along with plenty of vocal dubs. Its composition is pretty simple, however the payoff is a catchy pop payoff, one which comes off even more securely on rambling quiet latitudes of sound waves which emanate from “Wake Up Dead.” With his El Cid division Will Hedges continues to do what he always has done, which is to further promote the multi-faceted genres which tend to keep him from getting bored with music. I’m not sure if an entire record based on these formulas would be sustainable, but these four songs are sure to become fast friends to many listening ears.
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