Ya dancer!
Tiny Dancers, may or may not be taking their name from Elton John but these boys have an ear for melody and take more than a few nods from the past.
'Going Away' sounds like the original version of 'Spirit in the Sky' being covered by a glam rock band, such is the scuzzy clap along feel-good element of it. If the vocals were a bit louder in the mix, it may have become a bona fide classic but with that drum beat and guitar fill, it will probably do quite nicely as a cult classic.
'Hemsworth Hallway' is the other song that sounds like it comes from an earlier time with the spirit and vocal delivery of Neil Diamond coursing through the song, at times it's hard not to burst out into a chorus of "crackling Rose you're a store bought woman, you make me sing like a guitar humming." Which for all its old and worn and been around the block, indicates a rather good singalong element and the track manages to stand up for itself well.
That's the more obvious walks down nostalgia lane covered and thankfully the rest of the EP takes in a few more varied sounds. Opener '20 to 9' mixes early 80s U2 or Echo and the Bunnymen with the moody and quiet backing playing nicely behind some chiming vocals, which peak but rarely strain.
With John Leckie at the controls, there was a lot for the band to live up to and on first showing; no one has been let down. It may not shift the units in the manner that some other Leckie productions have done but it's an excellent for things to come.
Ignoring the band's name and the possible wrong routes it could take you down, this is more infectious than chicken pox in a nursery and is likely to catch on just as quick. Order in some calamine lotion as this EP is likely to be hanging around for a while.