Balance is something that’s present in Keepaway’s Baby Style. This young band manages to experiment without making a mess of things, something quite unusual for a first EP.  The first single from this album, Yellow Wings, was released a while back, stringing along listeners as they awaited the release of the entire EP. It kicks off with an extended loop that slowly adopts the sounds of guitar and drums before leading into the vocals. The track, which has created a lot of buzz, epitomizes the group’s realization of their talent with lyrics like, “I think I finally know what I want.”

Synth sounds and rolling snares take hold in the following track, Family of the Sun. Following suit with the bands love of extended intros, Family of the Sun seems to fall short with its sister track Yellow Wings. The instrumentals aren’t horrible, but the drumming doesn’t manage to build up at a fast enough rate, generating a loss of interest. While the melody isn’t as bad as the drum speed, it still isn’t enough to revive the track.

While the intros to Yellow Wings and Family of the Son are a bit on the lengthy side, I Think About You All the Time seems to rush right into the lyrical side of things and oozes similarities to the Animal Collective. 5 Rings keeps up the lyrical pace with the guys’ dead-on harmonies.  The final track on this album lacks the experimentation that the rest of the work embodies; however, it is perfectly placed. Evil Lady supplies the listener with a smooth comedown from the upbeat, electronic sounds of its predecessors.

Keepaway is a band to keep an eye on. These guys have the necessary vocal and instrumental talent and aren’t afraid to take risks. With a little more tweaking and experimentation with their sound they could do great things. Overall, I’d say Baby Style, which is out now via Lefse Records, is a pretty tight EP, so I’m giving it 8.4 out of 10 bees.