Digging into the same hole, again and again, sounds tiresome, but music history tells us quite the opposite. Every fresh new group cribs from something else and their forebears were cribbing as well, back and forth. It’s human nature. We’re derivative by force of nature, so there’s no shame. It might be said that the only truly original composition in history was John Cage’s annoyingly clever 4’33”.
With that in mind, it should be noted that countless artists have already approached jangly indie-pop for decades, but joy can still be found if you dig deep enough. Toronto indie band Ducks Unlimited find such pure joy on their buzzy debut EP titled, ironically enough, Get Bleak.
Their sound is simple enough. The guitars sound like chimes, and the rhythms glide around like joyful, laughing teens on an ice rink on date night. It’s a formula that’s been around for years, from Another Sunny Day and Field Mice up to contemporary days’ Real Estate. The production value recalls Real Estate’s self-titled debut album, being so frosty and crisp with just a little fuzz around the edges. Each time a chord is held, it evokes a tree after an ice storm shaking in the wind. Cold and refreshing is what it is.
Furthermore, the lyrics are fun. If there’s something that opens up a song and helps it expand and take up space in your mind, it’s lyrics with a smirk. “Get Bleak” is both an inwardly honest song about growing up as well as an outwardly caustic one. It’s the story of restless youth leading nowhere but around and around in circles, with the same old outcome: misery. But not without hilarious self-effacing lines such as: “I guess it’s predictable that I miss you…yeah.” In context facepalm worthy. This song alone is a pretty neat example of restless youth and all its jerk and sway and pleasure.
The rest of the breezy Get Bleak EP continues the journey just as successfully. “Gleaming Spires” is much the same song as the first but with a more frantic pace. “Annie Forever” is a little darker in content but quite pleasant in aural execution. “Anhedonia” is a smiling journey through self-deprecation, as lead singer Tom McGreevy says, “Waiting in the wings, getting comfortable / Moving in the wings on a permanent basis.” Interestingly though, if the buzz the Get Bleak EP has caused indicates anything, its that Ducks Unlimited won’t be stuck in the wings for long.