Precious Little Life, whose name is an endearing callback to the beloved Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life comics, definitely embodies the twenty-something angst of their namesake. Rather than the trashy indie rock of Scott Pilgrim's band Sex-Ba-Bomb, PLL offer incredibly earnest, mathy indie rock tunes, especially on this new EP Sixpence.
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The EP is assembled piecemeal: live and studio recordings, three original songs and a cover, with three producers credited. It's something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue, as its bandcamp page explains. It's like makeshift scissors slicing through the red tape of PLL's recent absence from the Philly emo scene.
PLL has always had singer/guitarist Kev Nenkov in the lead alongside drummer Brian Trifaro, but recent additions Meg Bryan (keys, backing vocals) and Sam Tate (guitar) really bring the band to new highs. With four heads, eight hands, and more strings or instruments than they've ever had before, Precious Little Life have hit on something incredibly fresh. Just because the sources are varied and the lineup is new doesn't mean the product isn't deftly constructed - the lightning here is kept in a very sturdy bottle.
Opener "Heresy" is a certified instant classic, opening on a danceable groove and immediately throwing it to the side, launching a colossal singalong chorus over a pool of distorted guitars and synthesizers. The pause of a waterfall flow at the halfway point of the song is some of the band's best work to date, no question. "Sunny Day" and "Easy Comma Breezy" fill out the EP with more synth-touched, mathy post-emo excellence. "Easy Comma Breezy"s explosive ending launches the listener out at "Memory", a heartfelt Alex G cover, a sort of meditation in the rubble of the rest of the release.
Nenkov's songwriting leanings have always been this emotive, balancing dusty and shimmering tones like a tightrope, but the execution of those ideas has never been this energized. Despite being present in the fringes of Philly DIY for years, Sixpence sounds and feels like a new band ripping onto the scene unannounced, ready to do big things. Here's to hoping the band can keep the momentum going on their way to make a full-length.
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