“You twitch and tap your feet” sings Blind Mice’s Ross Nunes on ‘Nervous’, the opening song on this impressive six-song EP – and while he might be singing about anxiety or pensiveness, there’s a definite toe-tapping quality that gallops through ‘Sunday Songs’.

Sitting to the side of the emo revival, there’s definite nods to the likes of latter day Brandtson or The Promise Ring, but Nunes also has a rough and ready voice that ensures ‘Sunday Songs’ never feels too polished or contrived. There’s also clear 90s alt-rock influences meaning Blind Mice have crafted an EP that is accessible and likeable but which never plays to the lowest common denominator.

Sunday Songs by Blind Mice

Instead, songs such as ‘Home Movies’ and ‘Fifteen’ fizz and pop with a timeless charm and you could easily see both getting heavy rotation on MTV2 back in the mid-late 90s and early 00s. In fact, it’s perhaps thanks to Nunes’ gravelly vocals that Blind Mice stand out so much, and it certainly adds a certain depth to Blind Mice’s sound.

Elsewhere, ‘Madame Ruby’ is classic alt-rock, yet the odd bit of duelling vocals shows another side to the New Bedford, MA, quartet’s sound, while ‘Barbara’s Bar’ sees Blind Mice drop the pace and up the moody atmospherics. Again, it’s effective stuff and in the context of an all-too-brief EP ensures Blind Mice keep the quality high without resorting to the tried-and-tested upbeat alt-rock numbers.

It means that, ultimately, Blind Mice have set themselves a high benchmark to follow. Sure, ‘Sunday Songs’ may pay homage to 90s alt-rock and early 00s emo – but as someone who grew up with both of those genres, there’s definitely a lot to love about Blind Mice’s take on a familiar sound. Now, let’s see if they can repeat the trick on a full-length…

4/5

‘Sunday Songs’ EP by Blind Mice is out now on Animal Style Records.

Blind Mice links: Facebook|Twitter|Bandcamp

Words byRob Mair (@BobNightMair)