It’s only been a year since the Northern Irish trio released their second album. But with a show at the O2 Arena towards the end of 2013 and album number three in their sights, now’s the perfect time for a stopgap EP. It’s one that finds the band at their most reflective and downbeat. The title track is the closest we get to classic Two Door, powered by thumping disco beats and a hooky guitar riff. ‘Crystal’, meanwhile, takes its instrumental cues from Björk and ‘Amnesiac’-era Radiohead, with a glossy backdrop of ornate strings and Auto-Tuned vocals, while final track ‘Golden Veins’ is built round a piano refrain and catchy vocal loops like a slicker Everything Everything. So is this just a between-albums curveball, or a hint of where Two Door are headed after they finish touring ‘Beacon’? Whatever, it’s good news, because these tracks suggest a growing ambition and a band thinking on a bigger scale than they have before.
Tom Goodwyn