EZTV - High In Place

Rating:

Smash hit success may be just out of sight, but for an addictively charming and weightless taste of nostalgia, EZTV are certainly scoring high.

With a cast of guest stars seemingly large enough to take on any ensemble, EZTV’s second album arrives with no uncertain amount of glitz. From Jenny Lewis’ cameo on lead single ‘High Flying Faith’, through appearances by Real Estate's Martin Courtney and Matt Kallman, Quilt's John Andrews, fellow Captured Tracks label mates Nic Hessler and Chris Cohen, and Mega Bog, the glamour just keeps on coming. But far from the brash affair the company list could suggest, ‘High In Place’ is a meandering venture through a dusk-lit dreamland.

Recorded on an old tape recorder, the album is delectable in its own nostalgia. A collective breather in the middle of the ever quickening pace of the world around it, ‘High In Place’ is an ode to the moment it’s in. Sure, the world may be changing, but resolute with a starry eyed wonder, EZTV are proving they’re a band capable of changing with it.

With a cinematic jangle provided by twelve-string guitars, the New York outfit yearn towards the brightest and the best they can imagine – and the result is entirely enchanting. ‘States Of Confusion’ bounds with wistful ambition, painting out the future it wishes to see, whilst ‘High Flying Faith’ resolves that optimism, giving strength of voice to the will to prevail.

Daydreaming as they are, the songs do little to linger in the mind. It’s a charming wonderland they inhabit, there’s no doubt, but winding through their own sentimentality, it’s a rare occasion that sees the melodies become tangible. Smash hit success may be just out of sight, but for an addictively charming and weightless taste of nostalgia, EZTV are certainly scoring high. Jessica Goodman