The success of Nashville group Basecamp‘s music isn’t necessarily in striking ingenuity, but rather in configuration, consistency, and polish. Debut single “Emmanuel” showed that the trio could take the sort of electronic R&B artists like James Blake and Jamie Woon have been experimenting with over the past few years, and give it a welcome sheen and structure that mixed the joy of unfamiliar new textures with the satisfaction of more traditional structure.
The group’s self-titled debut EP continues the trend set forth by “Emmanuel,” making a few little detours along the way (particularly on EP standout “2 Thingz,” which flows seamlessly out of the end of “Emmanuel” and dives through a number of different phases, in turns gorgeously low key and anthemic, peaking and falling til its grand finale). At four songs, it’s an easily digestible collection that successfully whets the appetite for more of the band’s music, succinctly summarizing the sound Basecamp is developing and hinting at potential for more ambitious things to come.
