5/10
As the DIY trend becomes a more advantageous avenue for new bands to explore, many of them have used this freedom to create a less commercial style within their music and this has been the direction of London three-piece Give Blood. The electronic trio have adopted a very avant-garde sound that has allowed them to conceive extremely mood-driven music and this latest EP is no exception to their frame of mind.
Coming across as a more mellowed out 'In Rainbows', the 'Peripheral Vision' EP seems to want to create a solemn atmosphere of sorrow and woe as it plays. Using a mixture of live instrumentation and electronic accompaniment, the EP trundles along in a haze of self-depression, which leaves a somewhat underwhelming feeling throughout the record. It seems to struggle with its own concept and leaves the pace of the EP weakened as a result.
Individually, the songs all have their merits. They are well-constructed and show good promise throughout, but throw them all together and you end up with a release that never seems to settle within itself and ends up losing much of its appeal by the end.