In a really odd way, I like this split EP. Released on Daventry label Jaws II Records, Elfonso and The Skull Kid are two separate acts. Both play lo-fi acoustic pop, not too dissimilar to very early Tanaou material. Starting off with Elfonso, which is two young chaps called Alex and Rory who recorded these six tracks in their own home studio. There’s a very DIY feel to what they’ve done and the imperfections actually make this sound pretty good. The quirky ‘Trail of Ribbon’ and ‘Grouchio’ are really nice songs. I think what makes this band so damn fun is that neither of the pair are great singers, yet they manage to use their limitations well, creating quirky and interesting songs rather than going off at a tangent and losing their audience through bad vocals.
The Skull Kid actually resides in Placerville, California, and is more folk-pop than quirky acoustic. The tracks certainly sound more ‘pro’ and serious and, in the main, are excellent. ‘I Row Arrow’ actually sounds like an obscure The Format b-side, all bass-driven and whispery vocals. ‘A Snake!’ is excellent too – to be fair most of the tracks here are great. The Skull Kid is a real find and this split is worth your pennies just for his tracks. The least you can do is check him out…
paul