EP’s are that in-between musical medium that is often used to showcase what an artist can actually come up with, or to announce and entice listeners to that big release that just might be around the corner. Or, that there just might be yet another such morsel to keep us hanging on.
Both such possibilities stand open with Hasten Mercy, the solo moniker of Toronto’s Michael Baker who is also a member of Head Fake.
Whatever music Baker makes with his other musical venture, here he comes up with a sort of a musical dinner menu of what else he can do and deliver. And yes, it is all different, and all quite promising and enticing at the same time.
First up is dance-y, new wave-is “Star You Are,” a song that escapes some of the usual trappings of what dance tracks sound like these days, limiting the electronics to a minimum.
“These Things” is a modern indie-style ballad, with an intricate melody, while “I Break Everything” adds that singer-songwriter Americana -style to the mix.
Yet, what ties all three together is Baker’s keen sense of melody and song structure that easily takes them above average and brings them into that ‘familiar, but personal and unique’ category that is often so hard to reach for many artists. Promising, and yes, enticing.
