Throat sore and eyes tired, illness takes hold and on Azar & SEDVTED goes. Bad Luck for some, good for others. Having made it through the heavy schedule without illness, there is some luck there. Ebbed away in the quiet patch, the time before a move and before another heavy list of gigs, albums and films. Woe is me. Bad luck. But Bad Luck beyond the concept and as a song, a collection of songs, is great. To the shores of New Jersey it is then, where Azar & SEDVTED await. Their latest EP, Bad Luck, has no such signs of misfortune on it as they cut through with four lowercase tracks of instrumental defiance.
Just such an easygoing flow. Melt back into your chair and just enjoy. No more than that is needed. Four classy little numbers which don’t overstay their welcome but leave you wanting more. Hungry for more, even. Between bloody nose and intro to a movie about a fucking loser is a real connection to their style and their audience. Azar & SEDVTED bring about a change to the norm, the standard is of a new culture coming straight through and hitting right in the head and heart. Music like this is hard to come by and feels so freeing when it comes about. Bad Luck is a start to something, you can feel the changes as it progresses, the riffs and rises that pour through the second track are wonderful.
Brief, sweet and to the point, it is only fair to respect Azar & SEDVTED with the same style they bring to their EP. Third track tiptoe is over and out in a cool one and a half minutes, it needs no more time than that. Extended plays yet short in their feeling and loud in their style. Bad Luck plays host to some wonderful collaborative efforts and brings in some lush little guitar numbers. Not just working away as a crucial example of how brevity in music makes for some of the inspired bits and pieces, but Bad Luck works as an insanely enjoyable palette cleanser. Clear the head with a bit of a break, just a moment to consider everything and to listen to something of quality, loving pieced together. It is no heartbreaker or brain-soother, but it is a break from the troubles.
Sometimes an EP needs to be that. For Azar & SEDVTED, a clean-cut collaboration which brings about its best efforts on sphallolalia, their efforts are truthful and earnest. Honest and quick showcases of their flashy style but also their immediate and intimate understanding of mood, tone and pitch. Their range here gives off the idea they know what they are doing, but are unsure of where to take it next. It is refreshing to see a musician, no matter who or what, to hold their hands up and say: “Here’s this, what’s next?”. It’s as exciting as Bad Luck, a delightful little EP which is well worth investing time in. Over and done with before it even gets started, these are the EPs that offer the headspace needed to take a moment, to wonder what comes next, and to realise there is no real or sufficient answer.
