Spaghetti Anywhere: Spaghetti Anywhere EP

Spaghetti Anywhere’s debut release is only four songs and 13 minutes long, but they have enough character to make an impression. This Scottish band plays light, pleasant indie-pop that owes an obvious debt to predecessors like Phoenix and Belle & Sebastian. To their credit, though, the songs here are well-written and well-arranged and each stands nicely on its own. “Gregory’s Girl” uses a wobbly synth riff and glockenspiel accompaniment to nicely complement an appealing vocal melody and catchy clean electric guitar line, and even adds some perfectly-placed trumpets to punctuate the chorus. The bouncy shuffle of “Girlfriends with Boyfriends” is slightly more standard fare, but singer Francis’ tale of unrequited love is appealingly told. The band also tosses in some great synth hooks halfway through the song that drive it through to the end. “Love Again” makes good use of a click track and an intricate three-part arrangement on bass, electric, and acoustic guitars. The EP closes with “Hazy Daze”, a slightly more psychedelic song that again makes good use of instruments. Horns, synths, and a mandolin all figure (and fit) into a three-minute pop track. It may not feel that fresh, but it’s very good. Spaghetti Anywhere are off to a strong start with what they have here.