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EP review: Alex Napping ‘Dish Soap’

I fell in love with Austin-based Alex Napping when I saw them open for the Hotelier at Brooklyn Bazaar this fall, and their album Mise en Place became one of my favorite releases of 2017.  While their new EP Dish Soap clocks in at less than 10 minutes, it’s full to the brim with the same aching poignancy that drew me to the band in the first place. The EP mainly showcases lead singer Alex Cohen at her most intimate in each of the stripped down and spare acoustic tracks that bring to mind the confessional nature of Karen O’s Crush Songs.

The band’s Facebook post described the EP as “7 brief meditations i spent an hour each day writing/recording between oct 1-7, 2017 to help assuage some existential dread.” Seeking inspiration from vulnerability is par for the course for Alex Napping, but Dish Soap dares to go deeper. From “Commitment Issues” to “Disconnected,” (a track that breaks my heart in 1 minute and two seconds flat) Dish Soap is a series of vignettes that linger long past their stop times.

“Imperfections and oddities, all the things I hate about me,” she sings on the last track, “Vessel” which stands out as a candidate to be fleshed out into a longer track backed by the whole band. Dish Soap is effectively a teaser for the full LP, which the band claimed to be currently tracking in the Facebook post: “hope this will tide u over.” There’s a whole world here in this tiny album—it dregs up so many feelings even in its unassuming brevity—but I’m still excited for more.

You can purchase Dish Soap here. All proceeds go to Planned Parenthood. 



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