15 Jul 2024 // A review by Brad Miller

The debut EP from Napoleon Baby, Unworthy Boys, is here, and what a release. The Tamaki Makarau trio have delivered a well-crafted and honed effort that explores our life and times and the frustrations and injustices they come with.

Opening the track with desert rock styled The Company that sounds like it’s fresh off the soundtrack to Daisy Jones and The Six. The Company provides a groovy and catchy opener to Unworthy Boys. With beautiful harmonies and distortion heavy guitar. A mouthwatering build up leads into the final phase of the track, I’d love to hear this live in a more electric setting.

Technically Smart Boys keeps the momentum going next. I feel like this track would serve well as a montage backdrop in an early 00’s romcom (niche I know, and I mean it in a good way! It was the first thing that came to mind). The drop off/fade out leads nicely into the relatively haunting intro of Positive Reinforcement.

Although this track shifts into a floaty and light melody, readers of my other reviews will know I’m a sucker for the juxtaposition of happy melody with sombre lyrics. This is achieved very nicely here. The happiest I’ve felt singing along about depression in a while!

Outlaws has an opening bass lick that snaps my attention back. I enjoy the felling of impending doom this track brings out in me (I promise I’m fun at parties). Napoleon Baby provide another track that I have no doubt goes hard in a live setting. Outlaws is a real highlight from this release, love the Keith Richards/Sympathy For The Devil style guitar licks too.

Closing out Unworthy Boys is the mellow and soft farewell of Goodbye, Good Luck. Lyrically, this is my favourite of the whole EP. I can feel the quiet rage behind this track, the palpable indignation, and exasperation. I will definitely be finding a playlist of mine for this track to call home.

All in all, Unworthy Boys is a more than a solid release, and Napoleon Baby have delivered a sensational EP that will at the very least, keep me entertained for a long time yet. I will be keeping a close eye out for upcoming shows.

You can stream Unworthy Boys by Napoleon Baby on Spotify and Apple Music now.

Napoleon Baby is a song writing concoction of Antipodean and European inspired life. Presently residing in Tamaki Makaurau, playing songs about living in a different reality far away from the world. Influenced by from Nina Simone - Television, Edith Piaf - Queens of the Stone Age, Napoleon Baby will be playing shows across NZ and Australia in 2023. Their debut album to be released later in 2023, with two more singles and accompanying music videos in May and June 2023.

Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Napoleon Baby

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