To give it it’s full title: You Thought You Saw A Shooting Star But Yr Eyes Were Blurren With Tears And The Lighthouse Can Be Pretty Deceiving With The Sky So Clear And Sea So Calm
An EP that seems to cover all bases can be a risky decision and managing to incorporate six different genres into just under 20 minutes could be misconstrued as trying ‘too hard’. Thankfully Brummie indie trio JOHNNY FOREIGNER have managed to pull it off. In this six-track-word-count-filling EP they steer between dance beats, folk rock akin to Fake Problems, straight up punk and lullaby-like acoustic magic. ‘You Thought You Saw…’ shows the eclectic talent that Johnny Foreigner possess whilst the vocals of Alexei Berrow and Kelly Southern can be both out of control and beautiful within the space of two songs.
Opening track ‘Elegy For Post Teenage Living Parts 1 & 2’ has an almost Klaxons vibe to it before Berrow preaches to us at the end about the life of the band. When you think you know where this record is going the trio hit you the ever-so tender ‘Robert Scargill Takes The Prize’ which is a beautiful acoustic folk track. Berrow and Southern compliment each other so well creating delicate harmonies to go against the plucks of the guitar strings. As soon as that song drifts from your memory they hit you with a sucker-punch straight to the jaw with the thrashing punk song ‘Who Needs Comment Boxes When You’ve Got Knives’.
As we’re left with the left haunting piano twangs of ‘Yr Loved’ Johnny Foreigner have made their mark. An unpredictable EP on first listen and a damn good one at that.
TOM WALSH