As hard as it is to believe, there are people in the world who don't like sax. The reason I mention their existence is that those people probably won't like Jared (or at least his music), because SAX GALORE.
01. Roll Initiative
02. Sand in My Left Shoe
03. Streets Ahead
04. Daydreams
05. Bridge Out
This entire EP has a nice nostalgic vibe. Listening to it, it's like being transported back into childhood, when life was all about playing comfy video games indoors (think Croc, Digimon World 2003 and Grandia) and walking outside in the summer when it was still possible to see butterflies, bees and whatnot all the time.
Roll Initiative is an interesting choice as the first track, because it's the most energetic. It's like you're pulled straight into a boss battle in one of those comfy games you used to play as a kid, and by the time you realise what's happening, you're already celebrating victory with a group of cute anthropomorphic animals; victory celebration is what Sand in My Left Shoe feels like to me, but at the same time it feels like journeying to an unknown destination, where everything is possible. That childlike wonder is blooming, and by the time you get to Streets Ahead, which is like an epic adventure through various fantastic landscapes populated by swarms of enemies (whatever those enemies may be), you're fully energised.
To me, Daydreams may be the best song on the EP. I mean, they're all good and full of epic saxophonising, but this song, with the long chill intro devoid of sax, feels like it takes you from passively floating through clouds on a bright blue sky to actively flying a sky ship of some kind when the sax comes in. It's like an entire adventure in itself, the theme song to a comfy game you would've wanted to play as a kid but couldn't because you were no longer a kid when it came out.
The last song, Bridge Out, is like being gradually transported back to the real world, to the current year, when everything is going to hell. It's a soft landing, like, "hey, you remember how things actually are? don't get carried away by imagination" and slowly but surely you're brought back to a life that isn't what it used to be.
If there's one criticism I could point out, it's that the sax gets a bit overpowering in the mix. I know saying that about music that's obviously intended to be very sax-driven may be a hot take, but there are moments when everything else is basically drowned out. There'd be more punch, especially in the last track, if the drums were louder. Of course, the effect of the music as a whole would be different if it was mixed differently, and it's possible the "childlike wonder" would be lost or at least diminished. I'm not really sure.
Not really a criticism, but as a whole it also isn't the most "striking" in any way. That may in part be because I don't listen to much music that has saxophone in it, but to me this EP feels like it's often "missing" something but I can't even imagine what that could be. Like, it's not variety, and it's not more instruments, and it's not vocals; I just don't know what it is. It also doesn't feel very original, even though at the same time it feels very unique; I can't really explain what I mean, but the point is that it's great as it is, but I have a feeling like it could be better. Maybe it's just that it's an EP and not an album. Dunno.
In any case, this is a solid EP that everyone who likes saxophone should give a chance.
Enjoyability: 9/10
Relistenability: 8/10
Memorability: 7/10
Coherence: 7/10
Flow: 8/10
Originality: 7/10
Epicness: 7/10
Nutshell: Let Jared Spry fry your ears with red-hot sax!
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