It’s no secret that I’m quite partial to UK artists, in fact I’d say a good 70-75% of my recent added songs have come from across the pond. Thankfully, London duo, AOSOON, continues this pleasant tendency as they drop their wonderful 4-track EP titled What Is This About. AOSOON, which stands for ‘A Lot Of Something Out Of Nothing’, lives up to their namesake as they deliver fresh material off of smooth and effortless production that is equally captivating as it is aesthetic. Even though this 4-track EP ended too quickly for my tastes (honestly, I was left craving more…which speaks to their talent), What Is This About has tracks such as “Under” and “Ghost” serving as powerful highlights to the EP as a whole.
Consisting of vocalist, Marisa Hylton, and bassist, Manny Folonruso, AOSOON initially released “Skinny Strong” 3 months back and which was unfortunately overlooked by myself. Right away we’re greeted with the deep strums of bass guitar before segueing into more strings courtesy of a calming acoustic guitar. Finding yourself captured in the thralls of these strings, Marisa’s voice glides over your ears with a carefree ease much like some light and loving fingers gently caressing your skin. Yet, the overall experience is punctuated with accentuated drums and subtle hints of a shaker bringing the song full-circle.
Moving on towards the aforementioned “Ghost” and “Under”, they both take different approaches in their presentation. “Ghost” relies on production that is deliberate in its pace, and makes more use of out of crisp drum-work and highlighted by Marisa’s slightly ominous and longing vocals.”Under, on the other hand, has a bit more vibrancy courtesy of an engaging electronic guitar, a faint keyboard line reminiscent of The Fray, and Marisa’s playful and commanding vocal work. It’s as if AOSOON gives you glimpses into different facets of their musical direction, leaving you wondering which direction they’ll focus more on.
Finally, you have the latest, and title, track “What Is This About”. Highlighted by plucky acoustic guitar, “What Is This About” certainly seems to promote a sense of hindsight. By that I mean, Marisa’s voice and the production itself seems to promote a reflective attitude on the past, which is important to really understand where one comes from. Quite a perfect way to end the EP with its more relaxed sound. Regardless, What Is This About (the EP) as a whole is a breath of fresh air and a strong statement by AOSOON declaring that they’ve arrived to the music scene. Just shows you that the time spent honing their sound has been time well spent.
