Sunny Days on A Silver Plate: The Q-Tip Bandits Album Review
Since The Q-Tip Bandits released their debut single “Willow”
last summer, the song has earned hundreds of thousands of streams on Spotify and
has given the band opportunities in the local Boston music scene and beyond.
Now, they are ready to debut their first EP, Ain’t It Great.
The EP is comprised of three songs, which have special
meaning to lead vocalist Leo Son.
“The three songs on the EP are some of the first songs I had
written that I felt comfortable sharing with others,” he said. “They were some
of the first songs we played as a band and I think because of that, they stick
out stylistically and will give people along with ‘Willow’ a broader look at
what The Q-Tip Bandits can sound like.”
Along with Claire Davis on bass, Dakota Maykrantz on drums,
Maclin Tucker on trumpet and Stephan Tenney on trombone, The Q-Tip Bandits have
a sound that captures an eclectic group of listeners and gives them meaningful
lyrics with a mix of smooth grooves.
With any musical release, the creation process of the EP was
both exciting and challenging for the band. It takes a lot to translate songs
from thoughts and ideas and bring it to life, but working together gave them
the opportunity to really hone in on the process and see what works best for
them.
“A major difference between this release and our first is
that with Ain't It Great, a large
amount of the post-recording work became our responsibility and we spent countless
hours editing and re-editing the tracks, which has brought us closer to the
process and has proved to be a really rewarding experience,” Son said. “Something
that was really fun about recording this project was being able to incorporate
gang vocals. When we play ‘Ain't It Great’ live it always feels like a party,
and to have some of our friends hoot, holler, whistle and sing on the track
really brought some of that to life for us.”
The title track, “Ain’t It Great”, is indeed a standout with
its gang vocals. Listeners can feel that live performance sing-along as they
cheer alongside the horn section and hum the verses with Son and Davis. “What’s
Your Drug” brings out more of a smooth jazz, leave-you-worries-at-the-door vibe
with effortless vocals and satisfying instrumentals. It’s one of those songs
that gets better with repeated play and turns a song into a conversation. “The
Wolf” is a blend of quotable lyrics and glittery melodies, ultimately raising
the bar for their next release.
In a world filled with noise, The Q-Tip Bandits are here to
clean your ears. They want this EP to be exactly what music lovers need no
matter where they’re at in life.
“We hope that people who take the time to listen to Ain't It Great feel compelled to dance
and to reflect,” Son said. “We hope it brings them as much joy as it has
brought us in the process and we are so excited to share these songs with the
world.”
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