EP Review: Children of the State - ‘Tragic Carpet & The Magical Wasp Gang from Notre-Dame’

EP PRESS SHOT CREDIT LIV KENNY.jpg

Children of the State are delving deep into the darker parts of their musical talents with their murky EP ‘Tragic Carpet & The Magical Wasp Gang from Notre-Dame’. 

This Manchester/Sheffield hybrid of a five-piece have adapted themselves in the last year or so, especially from the sunny, retro feel of their 2019 debut EP ‘Gideon’s Bible’. The change of tone has appropriately coincided with the state of the world we all live in, and the unease and paranoia we are all feeling at the moment is heavily injected throughout this four-track EP. 

The band’s admiration for all things retro and glam rock is still ever present throughout ‘Tragic Carpet & The Magical Wasp Gang from Notre-Dame’, especially in terms of glam rock tinged with this newfound darkness. 

Led by Ian Skelly of The Coral fame, this EP strips this band back to the basics which only adds to the uneasy atmosphere of it all, whether that’s the broken tape machine and horns of ‘Hot Money’ ghoulish nostalgia on the likes of ‘Give Up The Ghost’, this EP is designed to make the listener uneasy in the best way possible. 

Props do have to be given to this young band for taking this EP in a direction that wouldn’t have been expected, capturing those fears we’re all facing in a world of uncertainty and ‘Tragic Carpet & The Magical Wasp Gang from Notre-Dame’ is the perfect case for how far Children of the State can go. 

‘Tragic Carpet & The Magical Wasp Gang from Notre-Dame’, the new EP from Children of the State is available now on all major streaming platforms.

Words by Danial Kennedy


WTHB OnlineAlbum Review, Reviews