From the poppy heights of their last sunny EP, Yellow Jr., Overzealous comes down from their sugar high with the darkest recording they’ve done to date. It has no heavy instrumentation, only a heavy heart. Titled “The Valley,” the five-song EP forges through the lows of guitarist/vocalist Dustin Sellers’ divorce. As the first recording they’ve done with new drummer Nick Morro, they sound complete as a trio and are still making music in the same way, but lyrically, things have pivoted to reflect the frustration, bitterness and boredom of Sellers’ experience. Abandoning their upbeat musicianship to spin a more ominous musical web, this is the most weight Overzealous has ever carried, and yet the tracks still retain a distinct glass-half-full feeling.
Overzealous can still craft a beautiful, eerie melody, without relying on synthesizers, as they prove with the title track. Underneath a hypnotizing, shimmering sweep of guitars, Sellers sings, “She floats down, upside down, through the valley.” As far as Overzealous albums go, this is the most cryptic as there’s more room to speculate with the lyrics while the instrumentation, though still up-tempo, has come far from the simple catchiness of previous endeavors. Though vocal styles are nothing alike, instrumentally the band shares melodic similarities with Foo Fighters, stripped-down riffs with Band of Horses and even some of the cold ambience and airy percussion of Nada Surf and Matthew Good Band. Besides ’90s sentiment, “The Valley” has a quiet voice that may take a few listens to fully realize, but the melodies are no less interesting than those of other Overzealous albums. – Jessica Pace