Sherwood – Not Gonna Love EP
It has been quite some time since I’ve heard new material from Sherwood, 2007 to be exact. However with preparations for the release of their third studio album in October, they have begun selling copies of their Not Gonna Love EP during their summer tour dates. Quite an exclusive EP, I finally had the chance to hear it, and while short, it was definitely a taste of the new style Sherwood has embodied. From Sing But Keep Going to A Different Light, I heard a huge change in style from a mellow album to something more energetic and lively. In Not Gonna Love, their approach seems to pay homage to the Sherwood of old, with 3 tracks that are soulful and placid. That said it is still unquestionably a Sherwood of new, with fresh tunes fused with melodramatic themes.
Not Gonna Love is the premise of this EP, and with good reason. The track exhibits a lot of new things that Sherwood has otherwise never attempted. The style is something fresh for them, neither a step up or down in quality, just a change in approach. First and foremost, Nate’s vocals have taken a significant pace change, as he sings to a tranquil tune throughout. Furthermore, the melody is fantastic in this track, something that Sherwood has always done well. Their clean sound has very nice individual performances, but together they mesh into an eclectic portrayal of music. That is to say, I can easily differentiate between each instrumental melody, yet on the grand scale there is still one holistic sound. Specifically the guitar work is nothing but classy, and I liked the added touch of what sounds like a woodwind instrument (potentially just a synth or keys?). Other little elements such as the choir-esqe backup vocals make the song that much more euphoric. I thought the chorus was still true to the theme of the music, yet had a very nice hook to it. This left listeners with a song that’s creative and catchy. I think this track represents a lot of the artistic skills that Sherwood has, and I can hear it more with every listen.
While it’s a bummer to say, the rest of the EP is just ok, nothing terrible but starting off with Not Gonna Love will do that. Around You has another great melody behind it. The guitar and piano work give off the same calming vibe, and is simply epic in sound. The vocals are again super laid back and very dreamy, but the melody didn’t impress me all that much. The entire song is a bit of a downer, but that’s the purpose of the music. I still felt the music was a bit repetitive and could have used more of the creative changeups as heard in Not Gonna Love. A little more excitement would have been nice, but this would certainly have affected the mood of the song. That said, I think Around You accomplished what it set out to do. The final product is a mellow track, passionate at times, and emotional throughout.
Ground Beneath My Feet is another good track, and again tries a lot of new things. The song has a sad feel, but the instrumentals get a whole lot harder and more aggressive. I thought the passion was exhibited though the instrumentals more so than the vocals, and that’s what left me with that larger than life feeling. The vocals remained pretty consistent, a sophisticated and calming voice and talented as well. Obviously this is a Sherwood I wasn’t accustomed to hearing all that much, but I think they managed to take an aggressive melody and make it into something tragic, soulful and mellow.
Sherwood also added an A Capella version of Not Gonna Love, which I was amazed with. Overall I was more than impressed with this short EP, and since all the 3 songs are featured on the coming album, QU, I’m definitely excited to hear the rest of it. While I can already gauge as to where Sherwood has gone with their third LP, I’m still very much interested and hopefully they can surpass their previous two. Although I think I prefer the upbeat songs of A Different Light, Not Gonna Love has still given me a lot to look forward to.
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Sherwood – Not Gonna Love (A Capella)
Tags: EP
