Spanish Prisoners – Los Angeles Guitar Dream EP

Spanish Prisoners - Los Angeles Guitar Dream EP

In my review of Spanish Prisoners‘ debut album, Songs to Forget, I mentioned that the music was a tad too safe. Too simplistic for its own good, this caused the album’s songs to be, well, forgettable! Now, a year later, Leonid Maymind and co. return with a diverse, flourishing new EP, Los Angeles Guitar Dream, and it is everything one could hope for and more. Matured, varied and above all, cohesively wrapped, as a free download, this is a worthy listen.

The centerpiece is the album’s title track and with a hazy guitar and terrific male-female vocals, it is a winner on all accounts. The addition of keyboardist and vocalist Amberly Hungerford is a fitting choice and her chant-like singing is a breath of fresh air. Highlighted by xylophone and shoegaze textures, the song’s ultimately foggy sound is rich and abundant. The grungy chorus features both singers in full support of each other and with the percussion clanking away, it all adds up as one great song.

The album’s opening song, “Kiss the Lawn Goodbye” is an especially welcoming note and it features a loose but transient interlude that adds depth and substance. Maymind’s voice sounds considerably better than the debut and with the help of fellow New Yorkers, The Antlers, this is a great opening. Later, this extended play ends with a Spanish-hinted flavor in “Ask Isaac Asimov.” A nervy guitar and surf-like chorus tower at a fashionable pace.

Really, this is a pleasant success and ultimately, it is a logical progression for Spanish Prisoners. Los Angeles Guitar Dream is filled with enough ideas and promise to gather deserving attention. Granted, it might be too short for its own good but when the music is this good, that’s a small quibble. The future looks bright for the band because this EP is a solid release and oh yeah, did I mention that it’s free?

Download the album for free