One Track Mind

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This coming Tuesday, Cincinnati indie rock act Enlou will release their third EP, Body of Friends, Body of Water, on Lujo Records. With this new effort, the quintet takes a serious stab at sneaking their way into the genre’s premier echelon of performers with a five track set that hints at the atmospheric flourishes of Band of Horses’ work, the west coast guitar vibe espoused by Surfer Blood, and a Shinsian, Grizzly Bearish facility with melodic hooks.

On the Body of Friends EP, Enlou rounds out their standard instrumentation with touches of sampled sounds and a bit of vibraphone, extending their sonic landscapes beyond the immediacy of their electric guitars. On “Amphibian,” the EP’s lead track, you can hear this airiness in its opening moments. For nearly half a minute, a spectral near silence hangs in the air like a fog before the first verse comes crashing in.

The quiet tease is worth the payoff, however, as the band expertly pairs charging rhythms with ringing guitars. Above it all are James Bishop’s vocals, which are wide ranging in tone and emotional without being trite or overwrought. There is a splendid sentimentality to “Amphibian,” which fluidly winds its way through distinctive moods before its crisp, satisfying closing.