Even though the band was formed already in '08 and had published four or so releases before this one, they consider this one to be their first real release - or actually the second part of it, the first one being the "Friends EP" from last year which I sadly haven't heard yet. Originally a four-piece thrash-punk-band, by this release the band had shrunk into a two-man project of a very different nature. Both of the members handle guitars, along with synths, to create some minimal and experimental ambient soundscapes. Just by looking at the cover arts you can know that this isn't going to be a hostile experience.
What you can hear is one or two distorted, but still most of the time rather soft-sounding electric guitars teaming up with some soft and atmospheric synths to create a calm, peaceful, and somewhat damp atmosphere. The music is quite child-friendly so to say, there is usually nothing too "offending" or surprising going on, just a soft soundscape that's easily pushed to the background. One track in the album's end-part has some more bold expression in it, for example some very distinct synth-patterns and loud guitar notes, but aside of it the release is some very safe drone-ambient.
So what's the EP's appeal? It's exactly the safeness, softness and lack of anything too stimulating. The soundscape is even child-like in some parts. There's some slight unsafe distortion and some soft, even metallic beats and some more individually audible synths here and there to disturb the soft waving and to keep the listener's interest up, but usually all this is tangled up into one soft mush with nothing sharp to sting you. The release is a very good listen in the background...
... but doesn't offer much to really keep your attention up. The candy-coated world is a nice place to be, but the band doesn't yet know how to make this kind of an atmosphere stay interesting for the 30 minutes, and especially in the long run. The EP also lacks in the flow-department, making the release a bit hard to grasp as a whole and making it less appealing for the senses; for example the track I mentioned in the second paragraph stands out too much, while there are some longer moments that just flow by unnoticed. Maybe the album would've worked better on a CD or an LP, as now the dampness added by the tape-format softens the music's edges a bit too much; the songs have occasionally even bold nuances in them, but they're easily unheard. I must also mention that the album's end track is a very simple one, leaving behind a dull image instead of making you want to listen to the release again.
The release is somewhat unbalanced between the calmer and easily unnoticed moments and the more bold moments and elements, and the band really needs to work on ways to make the songs more individual, and to make the "spices" and nuances in them to work better. The release offers some very good moments of calm atmosphere to relax with or which to listen in the background, but musically there are things that need to be improved. Overall it's promising and includes some nice small experiments, but needs improvement. Bonus points for keeping the music on the A-side only, so that the atmosphere doesn't suffer from any unnecessary breaks.