the-g - Black On Blue

The-G

Black On Blue
Bad Robot Records; 2015

3.6 out of 5

By Mike Przygoda

Black On Blue by The-G is an EP of catchy indie power pop. The songwriting and performances are good; some of the sonic structure is a bit hit or miss.

The EP opens with the title track “Black On Blue,” lush MIDI strings before minor arpeggiated electric guitar over a melancholy vocal. The bass playing makes for excellent counterpoint to the guitar and voice and helps propel the song along. The surf-rock beat and reemergence of the MIDI strings in the chorus, however feel a bit too chirpy and poppy for what has been previously established. It’s a quick three-minute song, but could use a bit more of a verse or even a bridge before the repeated choruses.

“Still On Hold” opens with some great guitar interplay that feels like The Police and REM jamming together.  The song continues in the REM vibe melodically and with the large open chords of the acoustic. Here, using the title as a refrain rather than a whole separate section as a chorus works very well for the song, punctuating each verse and keeping the momentum. The instrumental passages work nicely to string the verses together, and again, the bass playing really drives the song.

“Sorrow” is an acoustic based song complete with bongos layered over the drum kit. There are some McCartney-ish tones to the melody and chord structure, which work well. The tone of the synth strings does pull away from the overall tone of the song, unfortunately, but despite this the lyrics, vocal harmonies, contrapuntal bass line,and the rest of the song manages to rise above and maintain what is a really beautiful song.

The EP concludes with “Lover’s Kiss” that has a Smiths-like tone to the tempo and guitars. The vocal harmonies work very well, and there are some rapid piano interjections that punctuate lines nicely. An excellent guitar solo, adept drumming and very well written chorus tie the EP up in a neat bow.

The constraints of the budget in hiring a string section is a tough one, and The-G may be using the MIDI tracks as a solution to this. It’s understandable, but some work on blending the tone of the samples could really benefit the band to help it sit nicely within the great timbres they’ve already created in their guitars/bass/drums/vocals. The songwriting of the band is good and it would only help highlight their strengths.

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