Demos

Exit Tahiti - Familiar Space

Tim Miller 24/07/2006

Rating: 3/5

An Australian, a South African and an Italian walk into a bar in West London. Two locals come over to them. They form a band.
Well, that's probably not quite how it happened, but Exit Tahiti bring together members from three continents to form a multinational band ready to break the London circuit.

'Familiar Space', their second EP, opens with melancholic guitar picking before the smooth vocals of Australian frontman Rob Steffen begin a forlorn tale of lost love on first track, 'Falling'. A downbeat, pop driven song with catchy vocal and melodic hooks, Exit Tahiti start this EP by sounding a bit like overshadowed 80s band Crowded House, with a similarly gentle yet well-observed attention to their music.

The mid-tempo 'Pale Blue' is again immediately striking as a commercially focused song, though the chorus falls a little flat despite a faux string arrangement embellishing the familiar pop chord sequence. With their distinctive Australian vocals, Exit Tahiti seem destined to sit alongside Maroon 5 as indie-popsters with mass appeal.

'Mess', the third and final track of the EP, borrows a more upbeat, summery feel from one hit wunder-song MmmmmBop!, casually strumming its way through major chords and mellow guitar hooks. Steffen strides along in buoyant mood, despite his life being in a mess; “I have to confess I'm enjoying myself today” he warbles.

Exit Tahiti have a lot of musical experience to draw upon between the five of them, and they put it to good use in their efficient, appealing style of pop music. They should have no trouble recruiting an interested and loyal following throughout the London scene, and just need to find from somewhere that extra spark to drive them onwards from playing familiar spaces to new, exciting ground.

Exit Tahiti Myspace