E.P.s are like a bar of chocolate; (no I am not turning into Forrest Gump). What I mean is they are fun, lightweight, enjoyable, but ultimately you wish you had listened to your mother and waited for the actual meal, which would have been a lot more filling and nutritional.

This 4 song E.P weighs in at a tiny 12 minutes, little more than a mouthful in fact, but it certainly points to a very promising future indeed. Stripped are a four piece from Northern Ireland, a bunch of guys in their twenties who are knocking out three minute indie pop bliss like veterans. Think acoustic guitars, cute, but not bland lyrics, a solid yet laid back rhythm sections and a decent voice, and you are in the right area. Imagine the kind of tunes George Harrison would write if he was a young guy again, and couldn't afford proper production facilities. That is the only genuine criticism I can throw at 'The Girl with Cartoon Eyes', the songwriting comes through despite some muggy, loose production that fails to highlight or accentuated where and when it should.

That aside you get a display of solid songwriting from a band with obvious potential that is available for a paltry price from their website. Given their ability to knock out genuinely memorable little tunes that manage to be familiar without being tired, one can easily see them being gobbled up by a major company either in the UK or US. With decent production facilities, and assuming they can stretch the quality of songs out from 12 minutes to a full-length album then I foresee big things for stripped.

A very promising taster.
 

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