Just imagine for a second that a band responsible for one of the most perfect pop albums of the year had been holding out on us, keeping some of the good stuff back just for themselves?

As that’s exactly what’s happened in the case of Hurry and their latest EP, the wonderfully perky ‘Casual Feelings’. Back in the Spring, Matt Scottoline’s indie-popsters Hurry released the musically stunning and lyrically pensive ‘Guided Meditation’; an album blessed with some of the most wonderful melodies this side of Teenage Fanclub yet a thematic, mental health preoccupation that unfurled differing layers of strife and struggle.

This short EP – three saccharine shots of indie-pop joy – sit aside from ‘Guided Meditation’, and while almost certainly culled from the same sessions (one of the songs is even called ‘Guided Meditation’) have a different feel – musically and thematically – to the parent material.

One thing remains the same though; Scottoline is a wonderful storyteller, smart with what he tells you and clever with what he holds back. The title track comes armed with an optimism to match the up-tempo power-pop, yet it still hints at unrequited love rather than a relationship. “It’s not my fault I’m crazy for you” pleads Scottoline, pointing at an unreciprocated relationship, but never fully committing. ‘All Night’ goes further still; the story weaves in and out of the narrators head yet is grounded in a bar where Scottoline wants to dance with his partner “all night long”. Doubts and confusion come crashing out yet, yet there’s a pretence to keep things normal and just enjoy the moment for what it is.

Gorgeous, bittersweet and subtle, it makes for an intoxicating experience when teamed with Hurry’s breezy and infectious melodies. And, it means if you’ve missed out on the delights of ‘Guided Meditation’, you’ve got some catching up to do…

4/5

’Casual Feelings’ EP by Hurry is out now on Lame-O Records.

Hurry links: Facebook|Twitter|Bandcamp

Words by Rob Mair (@BobNightMair)