Review: “Hark” EP by Trove

When Davey Muise announced Vanna’s surprise farewell tour, not many expected the frontman to return so soon. But in a new band featuring members of Vanna, Too Late the Hero, To The Wind and Roseview, here he is, fronting Trove. Their debut 4 song EP entitled “Hark” appeared almost out of no-where in November with the EP’s first promotion really being the release of music video “Massive” in February, some 3 months after the EP’s release.

So, what’s it like? 13 minutes, average song length about 3:20. The EP opens with “Shove”, presenting a big rock sound with a mellow Sunday morning vibe and big clean vocals. Muise’s clean vocals have an unmistakable husky, rough quality that add a grunge-y vibe, lyrically also, it’s unmistakably classic Muise. “Scram” kicks in with a post-hardcore vibe, more energy and verve. Muise then changes up the vocals to match the pace of the pre-chorus with rasp-y elements and even some uncleans before the song bursts into a big clean chorus. The faster pace is a really pleasant step up from the slower pace of the opener. The surprise is probably the closing “Get Lost!” which is again a heavier element as the band have clearly upped their game. “Massive” then dials back to the big rock sound while delivering a melody about unconditional love. It’s a song that sit neatly between the opening two songs and demonstrates a dialled back quality that allows the vocals to shine. Between the epically big riffs there are some little nuances that hint at something more but then pull back into the bands sound like little sparks. Closer “Shiny” steps up the pace a little bit but doesn’t steer too far away from the formula of “Shove” & “Massive”. There is a Smashing Pumpkins-esq quality within the bands sound that is as surprising as it is unexpected. If you took any one of these songs individually and put them on a Vanna album, there would be no complaints, together, with the exception of “Scram”, they are a little bit samey for my liking. There is plenty to offer and little nuances to find – again, with the exception of “Scram” – it’s a pleasant Sunday morning with a coffee and a hangover EP or Sunday afternoon when your mother in law is coming over and you need some background music. It’s decent without standing out and screaming “Look at me!”. Trove are a new band and their style will perhaps become more apparent with future and longer releases. For my part, I’d like to see them make music more akin to “Scram” than the rest of the material on offer here [6/10].

Track listing

1. Shove
2. Scram
3. Massive
4. Shiny