Review: Life at the Arcade – From the Basement EP

Liverpool four-piece Life at the Arcade, have released their debut EP From the Basement and our verdict is in.

Life at the Arcade have been relentlessly touring throughout 2018 and whilst playing gig after gig, they’ve hyped up their debut EP that was always due out “soon”. Finally, just before Christmas the band unveiled From The Basement EP.

The four-track EP opens with the bubbly ‘Little Lies’. It’s reminiscent of The 1975’s uplifting sound, with a warmth in the flowing riffs, frontman Paddy Clegg then sings over it about someone stirring trouble with “stupid little lies”. You can hear his frustration with the trouble caused as he sings; “Stop your stupid little lies, all you want to do is hide…”. Creating trouble then hiding to watch the chaos created ensue.

While throughout, the quartet are consistent and have a solid debut on their hands, one of the standout moments is “Home Alone’. Starting with a slick beat and a bouncy riff, there’s a smoothness to it as it progresses.

Yet what is the strongest part of this track, is Clegg yearning for the protagonist to open up and reach out when feeling down and out;

“I don’t like the way it feels when you’re alone, home alone… it don’t feel right when you feel down and out, alone…”

The frustration of feeling helpless erupts when it storms to its end with a rushing instrumental. While you can never know what someone is thinking or going through when battling depression, you can hear in this song how he tries to stress that you’re not alone.

Life at the Arcade saved the best till last with the moody ‘Wonderland’. It’s a song built for live show finalés. It’s broodiness, with elements of Foals seeping through, creates a tension that just rises and rises, before exploding with a ferocious instrumental, closing the EP out in knockout style.

Overall, it has relatable lyrics for any teen or 20-something to take in. Matched with great songwriting, the band are already showing they could only just be flexing their muscles, with a strong future ahead of them. While the melodies are spellbinding, as they can drag you up and get you to bounce around to, like during ‘Home Alone’ and especially on that big-finish on ‘Wonderland’.

If they keep going with the quality they’ve shown on From The Basement EP, then it’s a bright, bright future ahead for them.