EP REVIEW: Donkey Kid - Distant Shouts
To be released May 20th.
Berlin’s singer-songwriter producer, Donkey Kid has shown promising newcomer potential within the indie pop.
Exhibiting drawling glossy vocals and moody melody lines and employs intricate grooving jazz bass lines with touches of playful noise and samples that enriches each track.
Distant Shouts calls upon glistening features of the 1980s whilst maintaining mellow dreamy lo-fi gravity.
“Necklace” demonstrates a weighted groove shuffle bass with playful treble guitar riffs, accompanied with soft crunches. The song romanticises regular day activities and gets you toe-tapping and dancing in no time.
Followed by “Digging Holes” that installs gentle harmonies. This track focuses on isolation and makes sadness funky, I love the panning that flickers subtly. “Sugar Daughters” has a wobbly and unpredictable opening before entering with the lyrics “Honey, I will never let go” this is a driven bittersweet, burn-out love song that clings to your mind.
Hooky and addictive “Girl Outside” flaunts solid bass and drum beats with charming plucky layered guitar riffs that pan in each ear forcing you to sway and nod along. This track has a depressing undertone through describing characters “….she sings like someone died” is my favourite singable lyric. I feel this one is the heaviest of all the songs on the EP and I notice the contrast between safe spaces and vulnerable moments that is narrated, given away by the lyric “In my room, I’m a stable man”.
I love the creative differences in the middle 8 and final chorus as it kicks it up a notch with some distortion.
Finally, “Distant Shouts” very much leans into the 80’s style with the sparkling guitar riffs and the main theme and chorus of the song. I noticed that iconic deep vocal making an appearance in the background as harmony.
The soft sawing synths drives this track with optimism whereas the lyrics pushes back with pessimism “I’m my own backstabber…” is the few examples that make this track relatable.
Many of the elements in this EP reminds me of Jack Stauber but with a much romantic moody twist and paints quite an abstract audio journey.
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