Cardamis – S/T EP (CD)

“Eat Your Dinner” is the first track on this self-titled effort, and the three and a half minute run time of the track gives listeners a full range of the styles and influences that play such a major role in Cardamis’ development. “Eat Your Dinner” is a track that has a heavy debt to the dance music of the mid-nineties, all while keeping the camp of a Freddy Mercury or a Frankie Goes To Hollywood. Cardamis’ vocals here are equivalent to any powerful lead and will stay in listeners’ minds for considerably longer than the track would suggest. The ancillary instrumentation (laid down by Nicolai Ziel, Sebastian Vogel, Johannes Feige, and a number of other players), properly highlights Cardamis’ vocals, highlighting them when needed.

“Bound To Love You” takes a new direction than “Eat Your Dinner” took, allowing Cardamis to expand eir palette while still coming forth with a style that is consistent and cohesive throughout the entirety of this EP. This means that there are hints of Elton John, the Scissor Sisters, and even a little bit of the Pet Shop Boys while an idyllic musical soundscape is created by the rest of the act. The disc ends with “Take Me Apart”, a track that is simultaneously an ending for the EP as well as a beginning for the entirety of the rest of Cardamis’ career. “Take Me Apart” has hints of R&B even as an industrial flavor begins to permeate the track. The driving instrumentation present during the track comes in and out of focus, allowing Cardamis to push through with a brilliant charisma and a smooth set of pipes.

Where individuals may think that Cardamis’ music is of a genre that they would not normally appreciate, Cardamis has made enough of an effort to have something present in each of the disc’s three songs to speak to listeners of all genres, whether it be dance, electronic, or even “out there” genres like metal or Native American music. Make it a point to pick up this EP and you will not be disappointed; I’d guess that you would even want to search out subsequent recordings by Cardamis by the time that the ten minutes of this EP finish. Keep an ear to the ground and I have no doubt that Cardamis will not disappoint as the thoughts come to a close.

Top Track: Take Me Apart

Rating: 8.6/10

Cardamis – S/T EP / 2008 Phonector / 3 Tracks / http://www.cardamis.com / http://www.myspace.com/cardamis /