Extended Play

Quite how eight tracks clocking in at over 40 minutes qualifies as an EP is beyond my ken, but that is what British Sea Power are labelling Zeus, and given it's priced at a few quid less than a usual CD album, who am I to complain?

Following on from the success of Do You Like Rock Music?, they released the Man of Aran, a soundtrack to a 1934 documentary-of-sorts of the same name: a typically commercially perverse move from a band that doesn't seem to give much consideration to issues such as chart placement or sales.

The title track and opener is classic British Sea Power: surging guitars, killer hooks and non-conventional lyrics that namecheck Rick Stein and Nikita Khrushchev in their first verse. Though clocking in at around seven minutes, it never overstays it's welcome and builds up to a tremendous climatic guitar riff.

Cleaning Out The Rooms shows off the new expanded line-up, with violinist Abi Fry and keys player Phil Sumner showing off their chops. It's a wonderful epic swirl of the song, much in contrast to Can We Do It?, which is almost caveman rock.

Bear, like Zeus, drops in some contemporary culture with the lyric "I saw you reading the Daily Star/saw you watching the X Factor/And I was wondering/how could you fall so far?", sang with sadness rather than contempt. The song rolls along languidly before kicking up a gear in the coda, driven by an pretty killer bassline.

The second half of the EP is generally given to the band's more experimental impulses that were generally housed on b-sides to singles. Pardon My Friends is a tinkling piano number that doesn't really go anywhere, Mongk rocks along pretty well but the EP is raised back by kW-h, which bounces in jolly fashion with warped vocals and siren sounds that recall glam rock.

Those of us who bought the CD/12" versions (as opposed to download, presumably) get an extra track, Retreat, which continues the aural themes of Cleaning Out The Rooms in a more sedate fashion.

Quite what these eight tracks mean for the forthcoming 'proper' album I can't say. There are no instant pop songs here - three of the tracks clock in over seven minutes - and newcomers would be best advised to check out their previous work than jump in here. Anyone who's followed their progression with interest, however, will find plenty to enjoy.