Any EP that opens with sound effects reminiscent of a ‘90s Bowie track looks set to be decidedly choppy, yet Race Horses latest effort Man in My Mind doesn’t do a bad job of pulling back some credibility by the end of the first track. The song soon bursts into a classic ‘let’s go to the sea-side’ ballad, complete with twee backing harmonies and catchy pop hooks to warm your cockles against the winter blues. Despite their lack of power, the vocals are somewhat redeemed by their palpable aspirations; when you attempt the intensity of The Ark meets Freddie Mercury you are sure to be punching above your weight. It’s a bit like a cross between an early Stones cover and a song from a rocky horror soundtrack.The EP then fades into catchy little number ‘Grangetown 02920’. At first I couldn’t quite place why I liked this mesh of 60s psychedelia so much, yet as soon as the sporadic group shouting came in I knew; it was because I had practically heard it before in Elastica’s ‘How He Wrote Elastica Man’. Far from being an angry plagiarism activist, I actually quite like the song, though it is a little too short to dig your teeth into.This leads us onto ‘Opium Den’: 80 seconds of”¦what exactly? An ironic statement about how we are all just wandering voices in this decaying materialistic society, each unheard because we refuse to band together and fight the power that persecutes us? The soundtrack from the latest Steven King sell-out horror movie? Or rather more likely: is it just a gap filler between songs? This sort of gumpf is barely passable on a full length album, let alone on a 9 minute EP; even someone with my poor math skills can see that this ratio of good music to poor concept isn’t quite right.The last track sounds more like a road trip to Dover than Denver, and you can imagine the crackling home video effect video they will have to accompany this nostalgic little gem. The vocals are altogether stronger than in Man in my Mind, and are carried well by the more considered multi instrumental soundscape. Their innovative mix of organs, violins, chimes and synthesizer make the track timeless; it is both retrospective of the 60s and 80s, whilst still fitting with the recent upsurge of garage-surf to hit the mainstream.My bad expectations of this EP were pleasantly shred to pieces after giving it a listen, and I was suitably impressed with the Welsh pop-trash four piece. Whilst they won’t be in line for my top releases, they are not without merit either, and are a bit like a more credible version of The Hoosiers.

Buy the EP on Amazon | [itunes link="http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/man-in-my-mind/id336807960?uo=4" title="Race_Horses-Man_In_My_Mind_-_EP_(Album)" text="iTunes"]