Los Angeles duo LAYNE will release their new EP The Black Hills this Friday (26th August). The duo consists of Layne Putman and Alexander Rosca with the beautiful Putman on vocals. She recently described the as a ‘collection of songs written over the past year and an introduction to LAYNE. The five track EP features the band’s signature dystopian indie-pop sound that was previously portrayed in their viral hits Somebody and Good. Within the EP, Putnam performed/recorded all the instruments on each track and also co produced it alongside Los Angeles engineer/producer, Devon Corey. The first track titled Topical automatically gives you a feel for the rest of EP as the music portrays a really catchy beat that just sends out a really chilled vibe. The song has the instrumental quality to be at the top of any indie charts but also has potential be a part of pop charts with the stunning vocals complimenting the beat. Twuh follows shortly and this particular song has the a real club feel to it and is waiting to be remixed and played across the globe by many the world’s top DJs. The perfects vocals once again gives you goosebumps and is pitch perfect like it is throughout the EP. The club beat I referred to earlier runs throughout the song and it really does allow this song to have a lot of potential.
On to the third song Boys Do, the EP suddenly turns back to indie however it still has that slight dance element to it that just wants you to nod your head to the catchy beat. The effects on this song really makes the backing vocals sound awesome and it allows the song to create a perfect balance of electronic sound and instrumental greatness. You is the penultimate song from the record and automatically you can hear a lot of emotion in Putman’s voice. This is clearly a song that means a lot to the duo who perform this track fantastically. Again this song could easily appear on any radio station and become an instant hit. The last track on the EP is Phone and in my opinion they saved the best until last. First all you can hear that amazing electronic beat kick in once again that really creates a lot of easy listening. Even the chorus feels already something you’ve heard before when listening to it for the first time. It is very difficult to create songs like this and LAYNE have done this superbly. I think this song like the rest of EP has a lot of potential to be big and I’m sure it won’t be long before this duo gets the credit and break they deserve.
9/10: The duo has a lot of potential and this was a truly great example to show this.
Highlight: Phone, the song had all the credentials to be an instant classic.