“Thinking back are my friends alright, alright?“
It feels a short age since JAWS dropped their last full-length, The Ceiling, in 2019, which is arguably the Birmingham outfit’s best material to date. Moody cuts “End of the World“, “Driving at Night” and “The Ceiling” were tracks that intertwined themselves as a sort of soundtrack of day-to-day life. Even returning to it four years beyond its release, it has a charming ability to return memories of where you were when listening to each of these tracks for the first time.
The years since have seen JAWS drop “Untitled” and “Anyway, Now Is Not The Time“, both sittingin a similar vein to their prior releases. When the trio returned in 2023 with “Are My Friends Alright?“, they lay out a clear departure from their previous sound, pitching higher sonically with electronics and further leaning in on the dreamy elements. Acting as the opener on the group’s forthcoming EP, If It Wasn’t For My Friends, Things Could Be Different, the synthised vocals are somewhat harsh on the ear. This, blended with the pitched guitar that fully enters the fray in the closing stretch, makes for a difficult listen, even on repeat attempts.
Following tracks “Sweat” and “Get Up” rein in these elements and return to the more expected sound from JAWS. Schofield‘s atmospheric but anthemic vocals command the track, with the instrumental seeming to dance to his delivery. Though it could do with a little more punch, the latter of the two leans into more pop sensibilities, delving into the relatable human concepts of self-motivation backed by hazy guitars and gentle drum beats.
Penultimate track “Maybe I’ll Do The Same Thing Tomorrow” has a certain fatalism that comes with age. “I’m 29 I’ve got not no time, I can’t decide, I’m still lost“, muses Schofield. The self-reassurance of “It’s alight, its ok“, backed by high-mixed guitar chords strikes at modern day troubles that afflict a generation. The amusingly-titled closer, “Top Of My Skull“, harkens on the riffs and amps up the pace in a balladic fashion. There is a looseness here that frees the EP from its previous anxieties, closing on a brief but joyous note.
Exiting If It Wasn’t For My Friends, Things Could Be Different, there is a sense that the EP feels like a sampler of what is possibly to come from JAWS as they look to take their next step, rather than a complete new concept. There are warm returns to the past in “Sweat” and obtuse experimentation on “Are My Friends Alright?“, yet JAWS do enough here to maintain interest in what will arrive next for both current fans and new listeners alike. However, the EP does accelerate the need for it to come sooner rather than later.
6.5/10
IF IT WASN’T FOR MY FRIENDS, THINGS COULD BE DIFFERENT is out this Friday via self-release and can be pre-ordered here.