Ready Sett - The Badger EP

Ready Sett

The Badger EP
self-released; 2015

3.5 out of 5

By Jamie Funk
​

Anj Barton (vocals/guitar) and Tim Gau (drums/vocals) are Ready Sett. The duo recently released a four-song EP entitled The Badger. The Badger is a no frills indie rock EP that boils down things to the bare essentials. I can’t argue that this EP is doing anything inventive that hasn’t been done before but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth your time. The songwriting is solid and I found the vocals to be quite aesthetically pleasing. 

There are good things and a couple of not so good things about this EP. Let's starts with the not so good. The songs stretch to an average of around five-minutes when they would have been more effective around three-minutes. I have nothing wrong with a five-minute song when it's warranted but in this case the verses tend to go on a little longer than needed and they stretch out jams that would have benefited from a lead instrument. 

They start with “Shake It Loose” which contains blues-rock as well as a chorus that feels like a tip of the hat to “Come Together” from The Beatles. It’s a solid song but also not the most original this duo has. 

“The Shiniest Knife” is an enjoyable, high-energy song. There is a bit of a Sleater-Kinney vibe on this and it has more of a raw edge then the opener. The highlight of the EP is “Boxer Me” for a number of reasons. I thought the vocal melody and the guitar parts were particularly memorable. On top of that the energy from the drums really elevates the songs. As much I liked this song they still ride out the one riff too long. They close with “D-Roller” which hits somewhere between early Pavement and Sleater-Kinney. 

I really like the sound that Ready Sett has and I think with more focus and practice they can be competitive with some of the ‘90s indie rock they are reminiscent of. Most importantly they need to either condense their songs or have enough transitions to fill up the time. The other thing was that while the verses were often very infectious the choruses weren’t as impactful. I’d love to hear similar hooks that are all over albums like “The Woods” or “Slanted and Enchanted.” The Badger is a solid start from a band with a lot of potential.

Become A Fan

Tweet