Natural Child - Natural Child 7" EP

Artist: Natural Child
Album: Natural Child EP
Year: 2010
Label: Infinity Cat

Genre(s)/Style(s): garage rock / punk

Tracklisting:

A1 Shame Walkin' - 2:11
A2 Crack Mountain - 2:12
B1 Cougar - 1:30
B2 Dogbite - 1:41

It's worth noting that the tracklisting for the version I own is:

1. Cougar - 1:30
2. Crack Mountain - 2:12
3. Dogbite - 1:41
4. Shame Walkin' - 2:11
5. Easy Street - 2:15

Natural Child are one of those garage revival bands, playing what is otherwise catchy pop/rock from the 1960's... but with lo-fi production. Sure, it's formulaic and largely unoriginal, but it is by no means bad.

This quick little EP only has 4 tracks (although the version I have has 5 tracks, so fuck you), all short, sweet, and to the point. And I guess that's the real charm here: it's concise. It doesn't fuck around with anything experimental or extravagant. It's just five simple, catchy tracks, all under 3 minutes in length. It doesn't matter who you are, these tunes will have you bobbing your head.

The lyrics are also pretty funny here, particularly the lines "mom just told me everybody smokes weed" and "I just want to smoke crack with my friends". There's also a really fly bass solo at the end of "Cougar" that's a friendly reminder of the skill these guys have, but choose not to show off. On that note, it's worth noting that the musicianship on display is pretty tight, all the instruments are present and fully-functioning, and none of the layers are competing with each other; the bass locks down a groove with drums, and the guitar banters with some simple chords. Nice and simple.

So if you're up for some quick, clean, fun tunes with some cheeky humor, grab this one, though the lack of depth prevents this from being one to write home about. And if Natural Child is really your thing, take comfort in knowing they've just released an LP called 1971, out now.

Verdict: 65% - Fun for the whole family, especially since there are so many drug references in such a short amount of time.

Try it. (mediafire, 15 MB)

Buy it. (mp3, iTunes)

Note: both links are for the five track version of the EP.