EP REVIEW: argonaut&wasp ‘Ha! Fiction’

There’s something oddly familiar and comforting about argonaut&wasp, Brooklyn’s latest dance-rock crew. Perhaps it’s their clear references to icons Talking Heads, LCD Soundsystem, and The Clash to name a few, or possibly it’s just their smooth, funky riffs which are steeped nostalgia, which make it impossible to not feel at home. Either way, the 5-piece producer-andpband team are bringing back the 80s in style with their latest EP ‘Ha! Fiction’.

The first of the four tracks, Paisley sets the scene brilliantly as an upbeat disco influenced rock jam. Opening with a grooving drumbeat alongside an ambient synthesised chorus and echoing guitar riffs, it’s already a blast from the past. The tune is extremely catchy and feel good, mainly due to the vibrant and rich sing-along vocals with bounce smoothly throughout. 

Ever Enough opens as a cloudy slow burner, shrouded in atmospheric keys alongside striding drums. Keeping you toe tapping though, the track builds into yet another synth tangled belter, with wholly gritty guitar riffs and distorted bass-lines appearing to form as the climax of the track.

“With a plethora of reverberating guitar tones, slick bass lines, chiming synths, and even a female vocal feature you could say it’s cliché, we’d argue it’s just funky as hell!”

The lead single, and arguably the best track on the EP, Loser Like You returns to the more nostalgic funky sound. The vocalist’s patter serves as the intro to the song, over rough, synth bass notes, and ambiences, which ones again quickly picks up into the funkiest chorus of the project. With a plethora of reverberating guitar tones, slick bass lines, chiming synths, and even a female vocal feature you could say it’s cliché, we’d argue it’s just funky as hell!

Venturing further out of the rock influences heard on the previous tracks, Disco Disco (The Drum Song) is instead one for the clubs. It comes out of the blue, but as a booming house banger it does have one hell of a bass line. Sadly though that isn’t enough to carry this track through to the ice skating rinks, with it’s cheesy vocals and fairy-floss synths this one is sadly hit and miss.

Seeing as ‘Ha! Fiction’ is only four tracks deep, it’s almost as if each of the tracks had to bring something just as vibrant and interesting as the next, and it didn’t entirely do so. Paisley and Loser Like You were the clear standouts, brilliantly combining their disco twangs with their rock influences, but Ever Enough and Disco Disco just didn’t demonstrate the group’s originality. That being said, we can’t wait to hear what the group has to come next!