Forming in 2009 after numerous teenage stints in various punk outfits; San Francisco’s Weekend follow-up the highly heralded Sports with an EP far more restrained in conviction, as well as one more deftly executed.

In desiring to ”remove some of the haze from the first LP”, they have succeeded in producing a record that lyrically and musically taps into their ethos, which guitarist Kevin Johnson states as an “interest indulgence and restraint”. And as such, there’s a calm-before-the-storm type feel to this band.

The Red EP was produced by Monte Vallier over a period of three weeks before the three-piece embarked on their summer European tour, and it is due perhaps to this transitional period that they manage to pack so many ideas and a melding of genres into their release. From shoegaze to post-punk and psychedelia, even a catchy indie-rock number, ‘Hazel’, with its bouncing guitars and repetitious, perhaps anthemic mantra, Weekend explore a series of sounds both sonically scopic and lyrically introspective.

‘Sweet Sixteen’ opens with deep reverb bass and a lyrical oscillation between growing up and growing old; the song contemplating both the coming of age of two figures in vocalist and songwriter Durkan’s life, while vocally throughout, he is capable of creating vast expanses where there were none before. No matter how close or oppressive the instrumentation at times may feel, this voice echoes and reverberates amongst the smoggy noise as if captured in some industrial underground tunnel. It’s a timbre both eerie and typically 90′s in feel.

‘Your Own Nothing’ is an experimentation in post-punk; brash and atmospheric, noisy guitar feedback mingling with distorted cries, and yet while it might be the most intriguing listen it also feels the most abrasively out of place here, at the heart of the EP; as Red works almost as a mirror image of itself; with track 4 ‘The One You Want’ treading the more formulaic path of ‘Hazel’, while closer ‘Golfers’ adds a compelling mix of grungy psychedelia to round off.

As a set piece Red offers a cohesion of a variety of styles; displaying a band eager to explore and yet not throwaway in their attempts: they indulge in variety and yet remain restrained, holding back before losing control completely in hazy guitar feedback and whitenosie. Both a young band comprised of young individuals this EP marks Weekend as one to watch: heavy in sound and wide in scope.