After all of my talk about Heypenny and their amazing live shows (such as their NBN performance), you might be wondering, what about their recorded stuff?
Well, it's pretty good. I ran into a copy of their "Cop Car EP" at the NBN show and have since been listening to it quite a bit. As for a run down on the EP, here it is track by track...
The first 2 tracks, "Cop Car", followed by "Oh No", have the feel of a live show by the band; they have the funky, party vibe going on. On the track "Oh No", I'm somewhat reminded of Middle TN's own SELF, due to the xylophone and playfulness, yet it varies enough with the horns and fast paced "it'd be hard to kareoke to the verses" lyrics. Personally, I think the hard to decifer lyrics add to the almost non-sensical feel of the songs (did I mention they are in robot costume mode these days? Check out the video below for a visual...).
The third track, "Emperor's New Clothes" is a different story, however. The song is a slower one with no real danciness, but that's nothing to fault anyone about. Yet, between the Bowie-esque vocals and Elton John-esque piano, it is quite easy to pick out where Ben Elkins & crew possibly gather inspiration. The vocals during the verses of the song sound less natural, but when Elkins hits the chorus, it sounds more like the rest of their songs. I know it's only one song (and I have heard it live and had no issues), so I'd be very interested in hearing some more slower tracks on their forthcoming full length (you can catch updates from the band on their twitter to stay up to date).
The final track is a demo version of "Cop Car", which I can only deduce is a trick to make sure teh song stays stuck in your head forever- it sounds pretty similar to the final version.
That being said, I do indeed love Heypenny. It's nice to finally have a hard copy of some of their tunes instead of sitting around, repeatedly listening to the myspace (seriously folks, you can't listen to this songs just once). The EP is definitely a good way to tide people over until the full length, yet I have a feeling people are counting down the days til the LP is all tidy and finished.
My advice is if you dig the band and their live show, pick up at a show (or order at their website) the EP. It even comes with a coloring book. Yes, a Heypenny themed coloring book.
And I will rephrase my blanket statement about how I feel about them, after sitting on the cd and also a live show: This band is the best live show in Nashville right now and one of the most creative groups that I have ever had to the pleasure of listening to and seeing live.
Heypenny - "CopCar" from Paper Beats Rock on Vimeo.
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