Four songs isn't a lot of music by most standards, but sometimes it's all you need to set a mood and tell a story if you're focused on the message and you know where you want to head with it. The sort of half-altrock, half-emo style of Head with Wings may not be to everyone's liking, but after listening to the Living with the Loss EP, you'll at least have to admit that they know who they are, and they're confident about it. That confidence translates well through their music, whether it's on one of the harder tracks like "Humble Beginnings," or on quieter offerings like "Harboring the Disease." Indeed, the fact that the EP opens with a mellow song when this is ostensibly a hard rock band shows just how sure Head with Wings are that they can hook you anyway, even if they don't start off with something that's perfectly indicative of their overall vibe. Ironically, starting with the quiet song was the boldest possible move, and in this case, it really works well. There's something about this EP that reminds me of Steven Wilson's new solo album. Part of it is the darkness of it, no doubt, but there's also a richness that leaves you wanting to dig back through the tracks multiple times. That's impressive given that there are only four songs, three of which come in around the four-minute mark. Deeply moody music can sometimes come across as forced or even corny; that's certainly not the case here. In short, if you like altrock and you're not afraid of the dark, this is definitely an EP worth trying out. It'll be interesting to see what happens when Head with Wings release a full-length album, as the extra space to explore would likely give them an even greater opportunity to show who they are.
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