Potato is a South London quartet who were formed by frontman and multi-instrumentalist Bob Corduroy, before the band began emerging as drummer Sam ‘Media Guy’ Zissou, bassist Matt ‘Gill’ Wildman, and guitarist Sam ‘Uh Huh Honey’ Honey all joined. They release their debut EP `Stew` this month with songs that are pretty much all weaved around relationships.
This extended play opens with `Roll` and it’s a gentle rhythmic number that undulates as it evolves. I read that it relates to a kind of distrust caused by dating apps. A number that really draws you in and had an enticing brief clarinet tone as the number closes out. In `TS_1` we have a ninety-three second piano led soundbite that may well have been a palate cleanser between tracks.
A plucked guitar and brushed drum skin lead us into `Alright` which is nearly halfway through before the vocals join and narrate the fragments of a relationship that’s dying embers are almost extinguished. Apparently `Post Potato Reprise` was inspired by the songwriter’s memory of a hen-do attendee rushing out from a Shoreditch bar to projectile vomit in the street but with a romantic twist. Another tender offering that has a kind of cha-cha-cha jazz like appeal at times.
`Almost Gone` has a fairly unerring cross-rhythm that does seem to mirror the sense of devastation felt in the aftermath of a relationship that has ended and left one of the participants overwhelmed. Piano and clarinet guide us through the melancholic instrumental that is `TS_2`.
This seven-track submission ends with `2K22` which may be an abbreviation of the year 2022 whose significance isn`t clear but maybe when a romantic relationship concluded and the consequences of such. Another wistful musing to close out on.
`Stew` is a pretty intense and emotional listen and seems to have come from a period of personal reflection from singer and guitarist Bob Corduroy, which i`m sure was both cleansing and cathartic. It did feel at times as though you were intruding on the narrator`s private and intimate thoughts and feelings but that is the joy about this release.
Rating 8 /10
